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Hello Les here. I have a question about deck planking on a 17th century ship such as the HMB Endeavour. I would like to replace the kit supplied with something better. I will make my own. In Ron McCarthy's book Building plank on frame ship models he suggests using Sheet lime, apple or pear. Not woods I can get readily in western Canada. Would clear maple be a good replacement? 

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Yes.  Maple would be an excellent choice.

Hard Maple, you should be familiar with- as far as color.

If you wish a more white deck, see if Soft Maple is available.

It is not my choice for anything else, but it is as suitable as

Basswood/Linden/Lime (all are Tilia sp.)  maybe a bit harder.

Another choice: Yellow Poplar -  it is not expensive either -

although you may need a larger supply to avoid the green bits.

If you want a weathered deck, the green may be just the ticket.

NRG member 45 years

 

Current:  

HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - Navall Timber framing

HMS Beagle 1831 refiit  10-gun brig with a small mizzen - Navall (ish) Timber framing

The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842
Flying Fish 1838  pilot schooner -  framed - ready for stern timbers
Porpose II  1836  brigantine/brig - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Vincennes  1825  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers assembled, need shaping
Peacock  1828  Sloop-of -War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Sea Gull  1838  pilot schooner -  timbers ready for assembly
Relief  1835  ship - timbers ready for assembly

Other

Portsmouth  1843  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Le Commerce de Marseilles  1788   118 cannons - framed

La Renommee 1744 Frigate - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers

 

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Hello Les,

 

I ordered some swiss pear (and some other woods) from A&M Wood Specialty (amwoodinc.com) in Ontario.  They shipped by UPS and it arrived very promptly.  I would imagine delivery to the west wouldn't be too bad.  I told them to send me 2 foot long sections - their swiss pear is 2 inch live edge.  I've started milling the wood for planking purposes and I think it looks really good.

 

You might consider them if there isn't a more convenient special wood supplier nearby.  Only catch is that any order under $100 gets a $20 surcharge in addition to shipping.  (It wasn't hard to get my order to total over $100)

 

Good luck.

Doug

Current BuildsBluenose II - AKrabbenkutter / Prince de Neufchatel / Essex Cross-section / Syren / Barque Stefano / Winchelsea / Half Hull / Maria HF31 - Dusek / Bandirma - Turkmodel

On the Shelf: Santisima Trinidad and Cross Section / HMS Cutter Alert / Tender AVOS / Confederacy

Suspended Build: Bluenose II - Billing Boats Nr 600 

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Curious Doug if A&M changed their policy.  When I used them to purchase their veneer there were no extra costs.  Just the price plus $20 UPS charge.  My bill was less than $50 including shipping.

Derek

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea  

Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

Current Builds

Bluenose - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

Fair American - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

HMS Winchelsea 1764 - Group Build

On Deck

Guns of History Naval Smoothbore Deck Gun - 1:24 Scale

Finished Builds

Mare Nostrum - Artesania Latina - 1:35 Scale

Guns of History Carronade - Model Shipways - 1:24 Scale

 

Member of the Nautical Research Guild

 

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I'm not sure if it represents a change or I just annoyed them :)

Doug

Current BuildsBluenose II - AKrabbenkutter / Prince de Neufchatel / Essex Cross-section / Syren / Barque Stefano / Winchelsea / Half Hull / Maria HF31 - Dusek / Bandirma - Turkmodel

On the Shelf: Santisima Trinidad and Cross Section / HMS Cutter Alert / Tender AVOS / Confederacy

Suspended Build: Bluenose II - Billing Boats Nr 600 

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Maple is indeed excellent, nice and light in color, but it doesn't sand or scrape down as fast as a softer wood.  Surprise, surprise.  Rock, hard, sugar, all the same tree.

You might look for birch, it's kind of halfway between the normal kit supplied stuff and a really hard wood like maple.  They make a lot of furniture out of it, so it must be pretty durable.

Look out for the source; if the wood is sourced in China, it'll be a different wood than something of the same name here.  It might be just as good, but be careful on mail order or otherwise not being able to put hands on it.

If it can be a little darker, you might seek out old rulers or other drawing/draughting supplies.  They can be made from boxwood, and if you have the capacity to mill your own stock might be a source

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Hello Les back. Another question. If I were to purchase a common 2 x 4, I could get a light coloured soft wood for decking. Spruce, pine or fir is the common supply. They are dirt cheap in North America. An 8 foot 2x4 is two dollars. I would select the best clear one and would have an almost lifetime supply of inexpensive decking or first planking on a plank on bulkhead model. Any thoughts on workability issues etc?

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Maybe a bone-straight, grade A select 2 by 4.  The grain might defeat you though.  It isn't apparent, but the grain is coarse enough to drag your tools off course, and it will allow an edged tool like a plane or scraper to work in one direction and not the other.  Get two planks glued down adjacent that the grain runs in the opposite direction and it might be interesting.

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I second the suggestion on poplar. It's not hard to find pieces without any green. It's very easy to work with and is harder than ordinary building pine. It has a fine grain and machines well. It's inexpensive and is readily available in 3/4" thick boards, which makes it easy to turn into ship modeling lumber. In some of the large lumber stores, you can also find boards in 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses that are typically 3"x24" and often they are very white and almost grain free. I've used poplar on several models and like it a lot. At the moment, I'm using it to plank the outside of a deckhouse and the planks are 3mm wide and less than 1mm thick.

 

Cheers -

John

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John, Les (in Canada) is probably only going to find poplar in the 'Quaking Aspen' variety, 'populus tremuloides', (although there is also a 'Canadensis' hybrid of 'black poplar').  This is a softer whitish hardwood with unobtrusive grain, used for many wood products, furniture, pulp for paper, toothpicks, chopsticks, match boxes, snowboards and electric guitars among others.  The green tinged 'Poplar' is a higher quality wood and is from an unrelated genus.  'Tremuloides' is a boreal forest tree so northern and colder climates.  It turns Rocky Mountain hillsides a bright yellow in the fall.

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Hello jbshan. Les here. I have scouted out some wood species here in a very reputable store. Their poplar is very variegated with a lot of green. Eastern Canada has a more white version. As per Matrim holly isn't available here either. Windsor plywood only carries large cuts of specialty woods. Ordering these types would cost about $100.00 dollars to do a deck from an eastern supplier. That is why a 2x4 which has a white colour was what I was thinking.

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