Project Invicta
The Medway Queen is an historic Paddle Steamer that is being restored in Chatham. It was one of the small boats involved in the Dunkirk evacuation in the second world war.
Read more: Project Invicta
On the Paddle Housing (there’s probably a proper name for that) is a wooden shield of the Kent Invicta Horse. The one on this side was fine but on the other side it was rotten and needed replacing.
To find out more about the Restoration of the Medway Queen visit the Website of the Medway Queen Preservation Society.
The Brief
To carve a new shield with a little licence to make the Horse a little bolder if desired, starting with a oblong block of wood. As a reference the old shield had been glued back together it looked reasonable, and it would have been easier to take a mould from the old one and replicate it in some durable material but I guess the rot had set in somewhere so the restorers wanted a new one and it should be wood to be similar to the original.
The Outcome.
Well Nearly!
Did I really not take a picture of the finished article!!!!
So actually not the outcome but prior to the black lines being painted on and the light blue around the wording cleaned up.
The Process.
The original was used as a reference to draw a pencil outline on the blank piece of wood.
The Horse was then drawn in a little sharper and straight line cuts lines drawn of for the major areas of waste to be cut away to leave an embossed outline.
The rough cutting out was a bit of a chore – trying to do so in straight lines to remove slices at a time
Yes – I did most with a mallet and chisel.
Although I did use a power saw to cut the depth lines where it was safe to do so.