Chuck

The same thing at the stern as at the bow. Basically you hold the straight plank in place without bending it. Because the one on the hull already is curved, there will be a gap between the two. You find the widest point of that gap or the apex of the curve you will need and mark its location on the new plank. That will reference the center or top of the bend you must create. I hope that makes sense. Then you bend it as I did. Bend it a bit more to allow for spring-back.

Your funny

Thanks...I plan on doing just that. I want to do one on lining off a hull as well as the planking itself. But sadly....it will have to wait until I start another hull. Whenever that will be. I would never sell it. I would just post here on MSW.

Its all spiling......basically instead of cutting it from a wider sheet, I am achieving the same spiled curve with bending alone. Either way would work. I did it a bit of both on the Winnie. Its all the same thing. The part you should not get stuck on is how to achieve the proper curve and shape. Either cutting it or bending it will work. The important thing to get from this is that you will require a curved and tapered plank in the end before you adhere it to your hull. Thats the important part. No force fitting will ensue. You can try and find any method to achieve that shape you find comfortable. If you line off your hull first and have a plan, and then have your planks properly curved and shaped before you glue them into position. You are good to go. If you also start with just one drop plank at the bow (just under the wale)....you have a really good chance of making a nicely planked hull with some planning and pre shaping. Its usually what I see on contemporary models. I just try and copy that. No steelers at the stern. Once you get past the habit of using a straight plank, all the same width, and trying to glue it onto the hull, forcing it into position, it will naturally result in a hull with fewer steelers and drop planks. It just goes a lot easier. Rather than use steelers at the stern, just use planks that gradually get wider than they are at mid ship. The only way to try this when I was breaking my bad habits, was to plan it all out ahead of time. Copying the layouts on contemporary models. You can use the compass method to find that correct curve, You can use the tape method to find that curve. Or you can eyeball it based on the gap as I did in the video. Once you have the curve...you could cut it from a wider sheet, or just bend it. You could heat it with a hair dryer or use one of those bending irons. You could use water or you could use ammonia. There are many methods and I have used them all. But in the end they all achieve the same pre-shaped plank before it gets glued on the hull. Having that "light bulb" moment and realizing what shape you need is the important part in my opinion. Just to let you know, I prefer the method shown in the video. That is pretty much what I do for all my planking now. No water...just heat. Bending and not cutting it from a wider sheet. Chuck

Yupp. That is pretty much how I plank a hull below the wales. If there a few planks....maybe the garboard and or the first two planks next to the garboard which are spiled and shaped from wider pieces. But thats it. The drop plank at the bow was made by using a card template first. But everything else was as I did it in that video.

We are actually trying hard to set up such a thing in the NRG. But it is a ton of work. Basically we would do what I did in that video live. But its not an easy thing to pull off. We had a test run just last month.

Thanks Greg, Our club has a great bunch of guys. Every month one of our members puts on a tech session on various subjects. There is really no substitute for up-close collaboration. I know we have many members here on MSW who are from New Jersey but who are not members of the local club. I think they are missing out on a great experience. I would highly recommend coming to at least one meeting just to check it out. Next month I believe the tech session is on seizing and splicing and some rigging techniques. I am not sure. Chuck

Part two was just some questions and answers. But I was a little rushed. Usually we dont have enough time to devote what is needed for the whole presentation. But here it is anyway. I am not sure if it adds anything more to part one.....but here it is. Its hard to hear the questions being asked. Most of the conversation in the middle revolves around someone asking me about a hull with many drop planks and or stealers as described in another authors practicum...just putting them in wherever and whenever. Hopefully that will make the audio make more sense.

Fugggettaboutaboutit!!!!!

I said no laughing!!!!!! LOL....I cant help it, I am from New Jersey!!!!!

Looking good keith!!! One of the guys taped my planking session at my club meeting. Its freaky to see myself on a video like this. No laughing. But It shows how I taper and cut a plank to match my plan from lining out the hull. I wish the camera was behind me but I hope its still worth posting. Chuck

That looks very good, Well done. If you decide to take it apart and break anything. Let me know. I will send you the replacement parts to fix it up good.

Here is a look at that "ear" piece. Actually I am not entirely sure it can be called an "ear" as it is only an extension of the molding. But this is indeed what I came up with. Taking a piece 1/16' thick I formed the piece. Its shape was found playing around with a card template. Then I transferred it to the wood. Finally the same scraper I used on the molding was used on this piece. Then a small length of molding was butt against it and continued aft. This is as far as I am going until after I plank and treenail the other side. I did however adjust some of the molding after seeing the pictures I posted yesterday. Some of it had some minor dips and waviness. I feel better now. Then I will add the stern post and move to the inboard details by planking the bulwarks etc. Chuck

Great start my friend. I will be following along. Hopefully you wont catch up anytime soon. Also...keep in mind that if you need any parts that I make available for the project in pearwood, I can laser cut them for you. I have the wood for that. Its just special order and will take a few days to cut after you request it. Parts like the windlass and such. Going with a metric size for things like the bu;kheads is no big deal at all. It wont matter as long as you adjust the width of the slots.

Nope...other than saying that they certainly dont match the plans. There are quite a few things that are screwy about that model. It is certainly NOT the Cheerful. But its a nice model at any rate. I have no idea why the ports are so small.

Thank You Druxey....I will have to remember that. I just finished making that "ear" and will mount it tomorrow. As far as the scraper goes. I use whatever I find handy. They dont have to last long. In this case I used some thin brass and to cut the profile I did it by hand. I used a combination of needle files and broaches. and even a razor saw. I just go slow and if I screw up, I throw it away and make another. Once I am happy with a scraper I will scrape all of the molding I need for the project. Just in case I lose it. The bottom molding has a slightly different profile than the one above it. I just wanted to mix it up a bit because using the same profile everywhere gets boring. I also see different molding used on contemporary models rather than just repeating the same one. Chuck

Funny you should mention those. I didnt want to start treenailing the other side today. I wanted to wait until after Tuesday which is when I will get a chance to finish that planking. So I added some of the fancy molding. Those thin 1/16" wide strips were the first layer of what would become the fancy molding. It was important to add them below the ports in a special order before the other planking above the wales could be done. This would ensure a proper run of the planks and what would become the second layer of fancy molding. I actually added that today. They were made as you usually see them, with a scraper. I was very careful to make sure they were very thin. One thing I notice is that folks tend to place molding on their models that is too thick. The molding on the Cheerful is 1/16" wide but less than 1/32" thick. I started with strips that were 1/32" thick and after scraping, I thinned them down even more. It makes for a more delicate look. In hindsight, I could have gone even thinner. At the bow, the lower molding will carry over onto the stem. But it wont be as I show it in the fourth photo. It should be thicker in the corner between the two so the transition is smooth. But I have only lightly tacked it in this area to show you how it may actually look. I will try and finish that up tomorrow and I will take more pictures. My transition onto the stem with the molding was only a test to check the run of the molding and see how it looks. I will do it for real maybe tomorrow. Take a look at the contemporary model (last photo) and you will see a standard at the bow (not a molding strip) that will look similar to how I will eventually do it. That is the kind of transition onto the stem I am looking for.

Just checked...reference lines are OK...its just a little short. I adjusted. So just add a wee bit to the top of each filler. Sorry about that.

It looks good Maury....I would build up the filler tops to the same height. My guess is that the reference lines are wrong. Probably a mistake on my part. I will check out the plans and make an adjustment.......I will report back.

You are welcome... Thanks you all for the kind words and the advice on photographing the model.

Thanks Richard. Photography frustrates me. But I continue to learn. Chuck

I was asked to take a photo from the bow "right-side-up", so folks can see the run of the planks there. I hope this will do the trick. Let me know if there is any other questions. Chuck

I buy packs of 50 #78 bits at a time. I have already used half of them. They are so dam small and fragile.

Yes indeed...But its soft stuff. Just drill it out or use the awl to pulverize it. There are a few #78 drill bits stuck in that hull also. What are you gonna do, it happens. Chuck

Thank you very much. I finally finished treenailing this side. I am glad that is over. I tried my best to take pictures of the treenails really close. I had to mess with the settings of the camera to get the best shot. But at least you can see the shape and detail. They are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But it does the trick. Remember these are #78 holes. Interesting though...the last two photos are identical shots except I changed the settings. On my camera I changed from Fluorescent to outdoor....on a setting and look at the color difference. Freaky. I could swear that both are representative as well. Its funny the tricks your eyes play on you. Only after seeing them side by side does it get so clearly different. I couldnt even tell you which is better. After looking at both for so long it all just blends together and gets confusing. I think I like the third one down the best and wont change the settings again until my kids steel the camera and screw up how I set it up. Then I have to start all over again. I hope this helps. Chuck