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Chuck's planking videos...


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The standard practice is to put your wales in first.  Measure off the plans.  This establishes the correct run of the planks across the hull.  I thought that was your hull.  That isnt optimal at all.

 

Then you plank from the wales up......and then from the wales down.  Even if its just the first layer of planking for the wales.  Best to put the wales in first.  Whoever's hull that is will have a funny looking wale at the bow and stern.  It doesnt look like the correct run of planking was established.   

 

Measure from the shear down to the top of the wales and the bottom of the wales....marke it off on each bulkhead and plank them first.  It will save you a lot of trouble....BUT yes....you can spile all of the planking.  Absolutely.   But its always always good practice to put the wales in first.  If you look around this site you will see plenty of hulls where they didnt do that and then when it came time to add the wales as second layer....they did in fact measure from the shear only to discover that the wales will not follow the run of the first planking layer they did at all.  Which looks really odd when done.

 

Chuck

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  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

This is a really brilliant video. Unfortunately my frames are so thin that I can't put pencil marks on them that are visible. Serves me right for trying to build a dromon with scale thickness frames.

 

But it's very clear and easy to understand. I'll be sure to use this technique in subsequent builds

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  • 1 year later...

Chuck,

Was ecstatic to see this video and the possibilities it presented - not dealing with soaking planks and waiting for them to dry - but sadly it didn't seem to work for me. I tried for 5 minutes with an 1875 watt hair dryer on some lime wood provided in my kit, only to have it bounce back to it's original shape. I was attempting the edge bending you demonstrated in the video. Could the moisture content of the wood be a contributing factor to getting this to work? I live in the high desert and the planks do seem a bit dry to me.

 

Frank

Current Build: HMS Beagle 1/64

https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/19447-hms-beagle-by-frank-williams-mamolidusek-164/&do=findComment&comment=593563

 

Completed Builds: 

Midwest Dinghy

Occre Bounty Longboat

 

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No I dont think so.    I have never had an issue.   It is a technique easier shown than described.  Even in a video.  It just takes some practice.   Dont be afraid to get the hair dryer really close to the plank.   You will get some spring back but that is normal.  Try holding the bend in position until the plank cools a little bit.    Your plank might also be too thick for this method.  My planks are usually no thicker than 3/64".  

 

Chuck

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Finally something I can chime in on.   Pay close attention to yuChuck's  last sentence.  I am a professional violin maker and making violins involves bending the maple sides. I teach this to students. The critical element for a successful band is the thickness of the material. It must be ready to bend to avoid splitting. Because the different strips come from different pieces of wood they can vary in stiffness and density therefore the thickness required to bend can be different with each strip. In Violin making the measurement required is not a book measurement. That is just a suggestion. The only way to tell is to bend and twist the strip + that requires experience. My students are taught to bend and twist the strip until  it wants to bend and that can vary from strip to strip but once you figure out what it feels like when it's ready to bend it will bend easily. If it is too thick it will most certainly split. Hope this helps

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Yupp....that is exactly right....it isnt an exact science and it has a lot to do with getting familiar with the feel of the strip as you bend and twist it.   My advice is to just keep practicing and experimenting.

 

Chuck

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To combine the thought of the 2 previous posts....getting familiar with the bend and twist of each TYPE wood.  Some woods bend and twist very easily, whereas if you do that with other, more brittle wood, they snap or split.

Chuck Seiler
San Diego Ship Modelers Guild
Nautical Research Guild

 
Current Build:: Colonial Schooner SULTANA (scratch from Model Expo Plans), Hanseatic Cog Wutender Hund, John Smith Shallop
Completed:  Missouri Riverboat FAR WEST (1876) Scratch, 1776 Gunboat PHILADELPHIA (Scratch 1/4 scale-Model Shipways plans)

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Is what you are saying is to work the wood in the direction of the bend first, or that you need to select wood that will bend easily.

Current Build: HMS Beagle 1/64

https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/19447-hms-beagle-by-frank-williams-mamolidusek-164/&do=findComment&comment=593563

 

Completed Builds: 

Midwest Dinghy

Occre Bounty Longboat

 

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I have been using the kit supplied basswood on the Pinnace. It is really brittle and dry and not uniform throughout. I have been using amodified Chuck method for the bends.  

 

First I soak the wood in water just for 30sec or so just to get it damp.  Then I clamp it to a flat piece of something (here it is some fiberboard).  Using a bunch of clamps and bending it a bit each time. Need to be careful as then wood will tend to rise/curl up on the inner radius a bit.  I just use a clamp to smash it down.  There is a fine line between this and the wood either folding and/or splitting.  After a few you get a feel for the limit.  Once all clamped up I then use the heat gun to warm the whole thing a bit and then alternately remove a clamp and dry the wood in between.  Once dry replace clamp and then do next clamp. Once entire piece is dry I remove all clamps except for the 2 on each end and then go over the wood again with the heat gun to make sure it’s dry then it is done.  Then wood does spring back a bit but if I needed you can repeat process for greater curve.  The edge bent basswood piece below was made in less 5min.  

 

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FCC299FA-FCC5-4B49-B8E7-E411399D11A2.thumb.jpeg.aa6c1df3e166ce3ecaeb202dde74cf72.jpeg

 

One thing though I am using a heat gun and not a hairdryer.  It will definitely burn you and it scorched wood a couple of times when I got too aggressive.  Also kinda melted the edge of the plastic clamps a bit.😳

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It's not just the type of wood.   I use only maple.    Understand that each tree of the same species can have different properties.  Just because it all basswood, or maple or walnut for ex. doesn't mean each strip will bend the same.   Different trees of the same type have different densities, stiffness, moisture content etc.   That is why the piece of wood you are working on is the source of your information.   You can tell by bending and flexing when it is ready to bend with experience.   Jim

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I don't know how I missed this post but I'm happy I found it. Its very interesting to see that Chuck is using very basic tools for the planking. All this time I've been trying to understand what the secret to a perfect planking job is and there isn't one. I've really been overthinking this big time. Basic tools and pre-planning is all that's needed. I dislike soaking planks so I can stop doing that too. I'll have to get my own hair dryer though, my wife won't appreciate me using hers.

 

And now I know what Chuck looks like :)  I think I was expecting him to be in a 3-piece suit though.

Jeff

 

In progress:
Medway Longboat 1742 - Syren Ship Model Company -1/2" scale

USS Constitution - Model Shipways - Scale 1:76

HMS Granado - CAF Model - 1:48

HMS Sphinx - Vanguard

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I found this thread a few days ago and watched Chuck making the lateral bends on the video.  I must be honest and thought that it seemed just a bit too simple but I really liked the idea.  So I thought hell why not lets give it a try and see if it works for me.

 

There are not very many threads that I've read that have probably changed the entire way I do things but this is one of them.  I set up three clamps on my bench and made a lateral bend using the wife's hairdryer to see what happened.  The results were eye opening for me as a straight plank sat perfectly flat on the bulkheads and the plank maintained its shape and did not spring back very much at all.  

 

Crickey this is a game changer for me so thank you Chuck as I have always soaked my planks; then clamped them in place so that they dried before gluing in place.  This is so simple;  and now that I've done it completely makes sense.  I've ordered a hot air gun as although one issue has been solved; using the wife's hairdryer is a step too far for her and as brave as I am I'm not that brave or stupid to keep going there so I'll get my own.  

 

I'm new on this forum and I am a cynical middle aged fool but goodness - this solution is just on point for all builders who want to get their planking flat and uniform without lots of wasted wood as its getting so expensive.  I think the next step for me is to make a jig that makes this process even easier.  Thank you to all that have contributed to this post :) 

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I think you may find such a jig in Ed Tosti's Naiad log.

Maury

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  • 4 years later...
2 hours ago, Jim Conacher said:

I must doing something wrong because it wont open the video. Can someone tell me the secret please.

Need some info to sort this...  Are you downloading or watching online?  What OS? ?  They can be watched online via your browser otherwise, they need a video viewer such as the Windows Video Viewer which is a part of Windows or VLC Video Player.  These are Youtube videos.  Are you able to watch other videos there?

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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  • 5 months later...

Hi there:

 

I recently had to have my computer refurbished and in the process lost the direct links to these videos - the ones that Mark posted to start this thread are now marked "private" - is there any way to access them? Thanks!

hamilton

current builds: Corel HMS Bellona (1780)
 
previous builds: MS Phantom (scuttled, 2017); MS Sultana (1767); Corel Brittany Sloop (scuttled, 2022); MS Kate Cory; MS Armed Virginia Sloop (in need of a refit); Corel Flattie; Mamoli Gretel; Amati Bluenose (1921) (scuttled, 2023); AL San Francisco (destroyed by land krakens [i.e., cats]); Corel Toulonnaise (1823); 
MS Glad Tidings (1937) (in need of a refit)HMS Blandford (1719) from Corel HMS GreyhoundFair Rosamund (1832) from OcCre Dos Amigos (missing in action); Amati Hannah (ship in a bottle); Mamoli America (1851)Bluenose fishing schooner (1921) (scratch)
 
under the bench: Admiralty Echo cross-section; MS Emma C Barry; MS USS Constitution; MS Flying Fish; Corel Berlin; a wood supplier Colonial Schooner Hannah; Victory Models H.M.S. Fly; CAF Models HMS Granado; MS USS Confederacy

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Thanks Gregory! Much appreciated!

hamilton

current builds: Corel HMS Bellona (1780)
 
previous builds: MS Phantom (scuttled, 2017); MS Sultana (1767); Corel Brittany Sloop (scuttled, 2022); MS Kate Cory; MS Armed Virginia Sloop (in need of a refit); Corel Flattie; Mamoli Gretel; Amati Bluenose (1921) (scuttled, 2023); AL San Francisco (destroyed by land krakens [i.e., cats]); Corel Toulonnaise (1823); 
MS Glad Tidings (1937) (in need of a refit)HMS Blandford (1719) from Corel HMS GreyhoundFair Rosamund (1832) from OcCre Dos Amigos (missing in action); Amati Hannah (ship in a bottle); Mamoli America (1851)Bluenose fishing schooner (1921) (scratch)
 
under the bench: Admiralty Echo cross-section; MS Emma C Barry; MS USS Constitution; MS Flying Fish; Corel Berlin; a wood supplier Colonial Schooner Hannah; Victory Models H.M.S. Fly; CAF Models HMS Granado; MS USS Confederacy

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