Chapter 13. Gratings.

 

Today I worked mostly in Blender. For those unfamiliar, it's a 3D modeling program.
I'd like to share a little advice.
Before marking out the deck, let alone nailing and cutting holes, it's essential to calculate everything! This will avoid problems later when something doesn't line up or overlaps.
How I do it:
1. First, naturally, you need to build the deck and finish it. In my case, I have two (one skeletal, the other planked. Therefore, I need to prepare two sets of gratings: a fully assembled one and just the frames).

2. Then you need to calculate the positions and sizes of all the fittings on the deck, nail lines, board joints (I try not to make joints right away, but glue whole boards along the entire length of the deck), and especially gratings and hatches.
3. When making the gratings: the most important thing is to calculate the number of longitudinal and transverse grating pieces and avoid making mistakes.
4. You need to make the grating first, and then build a frame around it. Don't do it the other way around, making the frame first and then trying to fit the grating into it. A ±1 mm deviation in size won't be noticeable if you see the frame is slightly larger after gluing the gratings, but reducing the grating to fit into the frame will definitely be noticeable due to asymmetry or thin outer edges.
5. Then, using the already made frame (with grating), mark the deck. Even if you find you've gone slightly beyond the required boundary (say, a beam), it's not a problem; you can shift the nailing line so the nails are at the correct distance from the frame. It's worse when the nails are already in place, but the frame is either far away from them, close to them, or even overlapping the nails. The same applies to other elements on the deck, especially the joints between the boards. If you need to move the nail line, you can also move the joints between the boards. However, if there are already joints, moving the nail line will result in artifacts and overlapping joints or misalignments. Again, no one will notice if the entire nail line and joints are misaligned without visualizing the beams under the board, but nailing that isn't in a single, straight line or joints that don't hit the nails will be very noticeable.
6. Then, nail along this marking and do a final sanding to ensure everything is level, and only then cut the holes for the grates and hatches.
7. After that, I'll install the deck in place, glue the waterway, and even then, I won't glue all the deck parts (gratings, hatches, etc.) in place, as work on the ship will continue, and to avoid damaging anything, fixing them will be done last. It's better to make everything disassemblable, so you can always try on any part, but still be able to remove it.
I'll be showing my lattice calculations soon; there's a lot to show! It'll be interesting!

 

 So, calculations for gratings, hatches and gangway.

 

Front grating
Note: The X-axis (red line) is the deck axis (in the photo, from right to left is from fore to stern). The Y-axis (green line, top to bottom) is from larboard to starboard. The Z-axis is the height. In short, the interface menu is at the front of the ship. (The exception is the gangway, where it's the other way around.)
1.1 - Blank: The wood fibers runs along the green line. The blank dimensions should be calculated based on the following steps; they will provide clear routing boundaries.
1.2 - The dimensions of the side grille pieces should also be determined after understanding all the subsequent steps.
2.1 - Routing grooves with a 1 mm cutter at 1 mm intervals.
2.2 - Routing in the same way, either simultaneously or remotely, but the groove depth should be 0.5 mm.

 3.1 - Milling grooves with a 0.8 mm cutter at 0.8 mm intervals (of course, it's easier to do 1 mm, but in my case, that's the format and quantity specified in the drawings). Groove depth: 0.5 mm.
Note: It's better to mill across the grain first, then along it, that is, the opposite of what's shown in the photo. I decided not to redo it. This will reduce the risk of chipping.
3.2 - Length of side rectangles = interval + 0.5 mm (this is the depth of the grating's insertion into its side).
4.1 - Slats that are inserted into the longitudinal grooves (in my case, 0.8 mm thick).
4.2 - Length of protruding part = interval + 0.5 mm (as in point 3.2, and this will apply to all gratings below).
4.3 - The transverse side pieces of the grating are turned 90 degrees and glued to the base of the grating.

 5.1 - The longitudinal side pieces are secured to the base in the same manner. When secured, the transverse pieces (4.3) are trimmed to the length of the interval (less 0.5 mm).
6.1 - After the entire grating is assembled, its upper surface is aligned to a single plane. The lower surface is then trimmed to the desired thickness and, if desired, profiled to accommodate the deck curve.

7.1 - The grating with the frame. It will be installed on the deck, which is covered with planks.
7.2 - After securing the grating to the frame, the upper surface is profiled to fit the deck's curve.
8.1 - The grating frame. It will be installed on the deck as a "skeleton."
8.2 - The connection of this angle is described below, as is the profiling of this frame to fit the deck's curve; it differs from the assembled grating.

 9.1 - First, mill the first plane on the front and rear parts, as shown in the photo.
9.2 - Then mill the second plane.
10.1 - Then glue the frame pieces (4 pieces) together.


 11.1 - Afterwards, they are given the deck profile (as specified in 7.2).
12.1 - In parallel, two more parts are profiled to the desired deck curve and glued in place at the mark to the depth of the lattice.
13.1 - Straight grooves for the grating are milled into the side frame pieces. For the version where the gratings will be assembled with the frame, for simplicity, a straight groove for the grating can be milled around the entire perimeter of the grating.
14.1 - This ensures a proper connection not only on the inside but also on the outside of the grating frame.

 

  Anchor rope grating (hold)

 

20.1 - Route across the grain (along the Y axis) with a 1 mm cutter at 1 mm intervals.
20.2 - Then along the grain.
21.1 - Insert the 1 mm slats.
21.2 - The protruding edges of the slats and base should be equal to the interval + 0.5 mm to allow for immersion into the side grating pieces.
22.1 - Installing the front and rear grating sections as described previously.
23.1 - Installing the side grating sections.
23.2 - A tricky spot for the anchor cable. To make things easier, you can simply remove the excess. If I do the correct version, I'll show it in the review when I'm making it.
24.1 - Installing the side frames with milled joint grooves. (See also 26.1)
25.1 - Installing the front and rear frame sections with joint grooves.
Then the grating and frame are profiled to fit the deck curve (see 7.2 in the previous description).

 26.1 - Grooves are made in the side sections of the frame before securing the grating.
27.1 - Locking strips are secured to the front and rear sections. (In the simple version, the grating rests on them, and after assembly, the entire structure is profiled to follow the curvature of the deck (see 7.2).
27.2 - In the complex version, the entire structure is first profiled without gluing the frame and grating together, and only then is the curved strip glued to the frame profile.

 28.1 - Profiled grille assembly with frame.

ATTENTION! I redesigned this grate because it was too small for the anatomy (it's much smaller in the kit, which is incorrect). So I added another comb both in width and length. I'll show you how I did this later in the review; check it out. I also made standard-design grates for the lower deck; they're also included later in the review.

 

Rear grating
30.1 All steps for the rear grating are identical to those for the two gratings described previously. The only difference is that the rear grating frame is significantly shorter and thinner, but the connection remains via grooves (see image 3).


Skylight.

 

40.1 - Base: acrylic (plexiglass). 0.8 mm grooves are milled into it at 2.5 mm intervals.
41.1 - 0.8 mm slats are glued into these grooves. Their edges protrude by 0.3 mm; they will be recessed into the side sections of the structure.
42.1 - Mill 0.8 mm cross grooves at 2.5 mm intervals (including the slats).

43.1 - Glue the 0.8 mm slats into these grooves, also extending 0.3 mm at the edges.
To create a profiled structure, before attaching the cross slats, bend the base to the desired angle and glue the slats along this angle. After gluing, the slats will fix this angle. To achieve this, perform step 44.1 first, then 43.1, so that the front and back edges also bend to the desired angle.
44.1 - Attach the front and back pieces to the base.

44.2 - Then glue the side pieces (the principle is the same as described previously, but the depth is 0.3 mm).
45.1 - Skylight with Frame. For complex profile shapes, the frame must be prepared as described above (see 9.1-14.2).
46.1 - Skylight Frame (see 9.1-14.2)

 

 Gangway
Note: The ladder is accidentally rotated 180 degrees, so its front part is facing left!

 

 50.1 - Front frame part with milled grooves for connecting to the side parts (51.1)
50.2 - The rear part is first milled along the plane for part 54.1.
50.3 - Then the end groove is milled for connecting to the side parts (51.1)
50.4 - The middle part is divided lengthwise into two halves (not shown in the image; to understand the principle, see 54.2 and 55.1)
51.1 - Side frame parts with grooves for connecting to the front and rear parts. Gluing the frame.

53.1 - Frame profile for deck curvature (see 7.2)
54.1 - Second section of the rear wall, previously profiled for deck curvature along with 53.1.
54.2 - A similar section is also attached to the middle section of the frame (not shown in the image; this was previously discussed in 50.4).
55.1 - Routing grooves for the boards on the side frame sections. To simplify the process, this routing can be done along the entire perimeter (both the back and middle sections).
56.1 - Filling the space between the grooves with slats longitudinally.
57.1 - Installing the lid mechanism guides.
58.1 - Installing the mechanism hinges. For simplicity, the hinges can be glued to the housing. For a sliding lid, the hinges are glued to the lid.
59.1 - Transverse fixation of the lid boards. The boards are bent to the frame profile, glued separately, and then glued to the hinges if the lid needs to be movable.
60.1 - Gangway frame for the "skeleton" body

 60.2 - A partially retracted lid with no lower deck (the lower deck is painted black, and only the ladder is visible through half the opening).
60.3 - A fully closed lid (the simplest option).

 

 

25.12.2025

 

Rear Grating.

1/3
I'm waiting for a vise for the milling machine, so I can't start working on it. I've already installed the bearings, but it's difficult without a good vise. I think I'll have to make jigs; I can't wait that long...
In the meantime, I've decided to make a rear grating, or rather its frame, for the first hull, which won't have the grating itself.

Having calculated the distance between the beams and the carlings, I cut out a groove for the connection.

I assembled and glued it with liquid CA. I cleaned the inside corners of the board with a scalpel to remove any glue. This is important!

Then I sanded the surfaces to a thickness of 3 mm on both sides so that the joint remained in the center.
Afterwards, I sanded down the protruding edges with a machine.
Then I reduced the thickness to 2.3 mm, and with this the joint still remains in the center.

I didn't profile the deck because it's completely invisible at this size. And since this grating was walked on while steering, I doubt it was curved (it would be practically straight or have a very slight curve, and this particular one).

Then I glued the stoppers for the grating, first the side ones and after cutting them off, the front and back ones.

After cutting off the excess stoppers and sanding the bottom surface, I sanded the entire frame with 1500 grit sandpaper, lightly smoothing the corners and edges.

Although this is the simplest of all the gratings and frames, it is also the smallest, so it is not so simple.

I haven't drilled the holes to simulate the mounting bolts yet; I need to figure out how and what works best, but overall, the first part is ready. As a reminder, the hull "skeleton" will only contain the frames for the gratings, but there will be no gratings. This was done to avoid blocking the lower deck and to clearly show the structure of the frames beneath the gratings.

I have nothing against the kit (it's pretty good), but here's a visual comparison of the frame from the kit and the anatomy.



27.11.2025

 

Rear Grating. 2/3
The frame for the first hull is ready; now it's time to make the grating and frame for the second hull.
All work was done on a Proxxon MF 70 milling machine.
I filmed a short tutorial; I hope someone finds it useful.
Since the grating is not simple and has complex side sections, we need to start with those.
I secured both pairs of these pieces against the glued-on strip, and placed another strip between the pairs to separate one pair from the other.
A 1 mm router bit is the width of the strip and the width of the gap between them.

For beginners, it's important to set the zero. This will allow you to make two full turns to move the dial by 1 mm. Without setting the zero, it will be difficult to maintain consistent movement. To set the zero anywhere, hold the handle and rotate the black cylinder with the numbers to zero.

For my grating, I needed to make 5 and 8 passes.
Then sand the lint off with 600-grit sandpaper.

 Passes in the main part (base) must be made gradually (preferably 0.5 mm per pass to avoid breaking the cutter).

To create a complex grating, you need to understand the principle of the sequence of work.

 The idea is to leave 1.5 mm strips along the edges so that 0.5 mm of them fit into the side pieces. This needs to be taken into account when milling the grooves.

This is one of the most important points. I recommend studying all the material before your first attempts.

For future fixing of the side parts, I made free space around the perimeter.

Before milling perpendicularly, you need to fix the zero again by running the milling cutter along the edge.

 I first go across the grain halfway for the longitudinal slats, and then along the grain the entire depth. And again, at 0.5 mm per pass, so that not a single tooth breaks off.
 At the end, you can carefully remove lint and dust.
 After this, you can glue the slats, leaving more than 2 mm at the edges.
I use very thin CA, not PVA. I like that it penetrates by capillary action and bonds parts that are already firmly in place. It also creates a thin, fine line of glue to visualize the joint.
But be sure to apply the glue only to joints and areas that will be sanded, and avoid surfaces that can't be cleaned.

Then I cut the ends of the glued slats so that 1.5 mm remained.

 And I glued the front and back parts to these edges with liquid CA at the joints.
 I cut off the excess height.
 Before fixing the side pieces, you need to pre-cut the edges of the front and back so that 1 mm remains (but later I noticed that you need to leave 1.1 mm).
Afterwards, you need to trim off the excess material from the top and sides to level it.
This completes the grille (I'll show the result in Part 3).
But this particular grille has a thin frame and can be installed right away.
First, I glued the side frame pieces...

cut to length...

 and glued the front and back parts of the frame and cut them to length.

Finally, I smoothed the top surface with a face mill and separated it from the base...

... sanded the edges with a sander.

Finally, you need to cut off the base (the lower surface) and profile the upper surface if necessary. In this particular case, the grating is almost flat.

 Rear Grating. 3/3
But during the manufacturing process, I realized the grating was a bit wide, so I decided to cut the frame and trim some of the side pieces. I'll show you a few more things while I'm at it.
I initially cut a groove to fit the grating into.

I installed a grating there, glued the side stopper with CA gel and cut off the side part of the frame and part of the side piece.
After that, the grating fit the frame perfectly (for the first case).
In terms of width...

...and in length.

Then I turned the grating over, secured it and cut off the bottom plane (base) so that the grating became see-through.

After sanding with a flat surface and 600-grit sandpaper, here's the final result.
From the bottom:
 ... and from above, together with the frame (it’s from the first hull):

 As you know, I am building two hull s in parallel, and in the photo above, the frame is for the first hull, and the lattice is for the second, and now I need to make a frame for this grating.

Since the grating and frame on the second hull will be one piece, you need to glue the side parts of the frame first, cut them flush, and then glue the other two and also cut them flush.


 Finally, lightly round off the edges and corners with 1500-grit sandpaper (very lightly).
This resulted in two sets:

On the left is the frame for the first skeleton hull and on the right is the frame with a lattice for the second hull.

The photo above visually shows which part of the grating will be visible and on which hull. The idea is to show two options...
...and these two options are completely finished, hooray.
P.S. Today marks a year since I bought the Alert kit. I started building the model in March, but I experienced the joy exactly a year ago...

 

 

02.01.2026

 

Main Hatchway. 1/3

Many of the steps involved in making this grating are exactly the same as the previous one, and I'll only detail the differences.
The side pieces are also milled to a depth of 0.5 mm using a 1 mm diameter cutter. The only difference is that the front and back pieces are different, so an additional spacer is added.
The main part (base) of the grating is also milled in a similar way (first across the grain), but the only difference is that the cuts are made at different depths (so that an arc is formed (it will become clear later why this is).

Then cuts are made along the grain to the full depth.

 To make the hole for the rope, I removed a few teeth.

Then longitudinal slats are glued onto liquid CA.

And they are cut off so that 1.5 mm remains.

Then I glue the side parts of the grating, first the front and back, trim them and then the sides.

After leveling the surface...
.. I milled the surface to form an arch. That is, I cut off 1 mm more on the sides than in the center and gradually decreased the depth.
I'll polish the surface after securing the frame, and the grating is almost ready. But again, the grille work isn't finished yet.

 


03.01.2026

 

Main Hatchway. 2/3
The grating is ready, now it's time to make a frame for it.

First, I milled grooves for the grating into the sides of the frame.
Then I cut off the bottom of the grating base on the sides so that I could glue the side parts of the frame.

 And after fixing, I cut off the rest of the lower part of the grating.

Then I made a deflection profile with the same cutter and sanded this plane.

 After that, I secured the structure and made grooves in the side frame pieces for the other two.

I made the grooves by pressing the router bit against the edge of the grating to catch the flatness, and I used the same technique for the other two frame parts. I secured all the parts with drops of CA gel; this is convenient and secure, and it's also easy to remove later.

After gluing the frame pieces together, I partially shaped the arches of the front and rear of the frame.

 Then I sanded the bottom surface.

 Afterwards, I cut and sanded the ends.
 Then I glued the inner parts of the frame and sanded them level.
Finally, I sanded the top surface with an arc.
And here's the intermediate result, viewed from below:

...and from above:

 The hatch work isn't finished yet. I'm still figuring out what and how to make the frame bolts and how I'll nail the grating, but overall, the hatch for the second hull is almost ready. Next up is the frame for the first hull.

 

05.01.2026

 

 Main Hatchway. 3/3
The final stage is creating the frame for the first body.
First, I make grooves in the "table" attached to the machine. I insert the two side frame pieces into these grooves and glue them with drops of CA gel. Then, I mill the groove in both pieces at once with a 2mm router bit.

Then I mill the side pieces so that they can be joined to the other two pieces.

I make the same groove in the front and back of the frame.

And now you can put them together and check the fit.

 Then I profile the front and back of the frame...

... and I glue everything together at a 90 degree angle using liquid CA.
I glue the entire joint so that after sanding the glue line is visible for greater visualization.

 I sand the plane and the ends.

 Then I sand the top surface, giving it an arc shape.
The photo above shows how the frame sections are connected. I plan to add imitation bolts at the joints in the future, just like where the bolts used to secure the frame to the beams and carlings. Finally, I've finally secured the front and rear grating stops.

 On the side parts of the frame, the grille lay on the side parts of the frame themselves, and at the front and back, the grille was held in place by stoppers.

Well, here is the intermediate result (if you don’t take into account bolts and nailing).
On the right is the frame for the first hull, and on the left is the frame with grating for the second hull.
A little macro:

Well, this is how they will look in height on the hulls.

On the left, the frame stands as if on beams and carlings, and on the right, the deck board will cover part of the frame and it will be lower (visually).

Now it's the turn of the last (front) grating, it's even more difficult there, so don't miss it.

 

ATTENTION! I redesigned this grate because it was too small for the anatomy (it's much smaller in the kit, which is incorrect). So I added another comb both in width and length. I'll show you how I did this later in the review; check it out. I also made standard-design grates for the lower deck; they're also included later in the review.

 

Next...

 

 

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