Jaager

JD,
Billets are 1" to 2" thick sections of a small log.  The width is whatever it turns out to be.  Doing thin slices on wet wood is probably a good way to lose all of it.
If you do not seal the transverse cut surfaces - the ones that cross cut the fibers (tubes) - more water will leave from the open tubes than thru the walls.  The vastly uneven drying will produce severe checking.  The wood will experience extensive splitting. Often along the total length.  Minor checking at the cut ends is the norm no matter.  But another coat of sealer may help.  The last time I did this, I used left over enamel paint and a sheet of Bounty as an applicator.  Latex gloves.  no cleanup - it does drip, so do not do it over any unprotected  surface that you care about.
Removing the bark speeds drying.  Some wood has wood eating insect eggs and larvae just under the bark.  If they are present and not removed, the dry wood may be Swiss cheese.
The pith in most wood is not useful.  In some species it is spongy.  It is also an origin for checking.  Removing it may reduce splitting and increase the yield of usable wood.  Even though I like the face of quarter sawn slices,  I usually slice a billet with the blade going thru the pith. 
Was it Davis or Underhill who wrote about collecting branches after a wind storm and using the branch forks to get knees and hooks with naturally curved grain?  I think species where the branching is close to 90 degrees are more useful than those with acute angles,  but not all branching is bad.  It is not good for billets,  but those sections can be their own thing.
 
A log wants to roll and has no even edge to ride against a fence.  A carrier board that lays on the table with a straight edge for the fence.....  the log can be fixed to and overhang the other edge of this carrier.  I use  right angle timber framing brackets to hold a log,  Short pan head screws (1/2") for the carrier and long drywall screws to hold the log.  The carrier is a bit of a problem with a table saw - it costs 1/2" depth per cut.  With a large bandsaw - which is the tool for this - no problem.  The problem with large logs is the maximum distance the fence can be from the blade.  But in this situation,  I do the dangerous thing and long axis bisect the log with the chain saw.  This for sure removes the pith and a lot more.  For what you have, this is not a factor at all.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

If it was in the US, a problem with Blue Mold infection after cutting is about universal.  It is a critical problem if you wish the wood to be snow white.  Your var. may not be white to begin with, some are yellow.   I was told here that Blue Mold is not as bad in the UK.  But, I will proceed as though it were.
Blue Mold discolors, but otherwise does not affect the usability of the wood.  It is just robins egg blue or grey.
To counter it, Holly is harvested in the Winter.
The cut ends are sealed on site.  Old house paint will work as well as anything.
It is cut into billets and debarked as soon as possible.  It is then immediately loaded into a kiln and stickered for drying.
Holly is wet when freshly cut.  As I was bandsawing an unsealed log, the blade was pushing water out of the end,
I made my own "kiln".  1" foil faced foam insulating sheeting,  200W- 400W of incandescent light bulbs as the heat source.  A DC muffin fan as a low cost water vapor exhaust.  A thermometer (digital - holds the highest temp) make it too hot for the mold, but not much more.  It will take a couple or three months.  It is faster than air drying, which is 1 year/inch.
Holly wants to twist as it drys.  A lot of weight on top of the stack can counter this, but at our scale and volume of wood that is difficult.
 
Not much works for us better than Holly.  It is hard enough.  holds an edge.  bends well.  takes well to wood dyes. Almost no grain or pores.  I think the grey infected wood makes for a more realistic deck than white.  Excellent for framing timber, but above miniature scales,  this requires a volume of wood that is better supplied by easier to obtain species.  Works well for beams, clamps, hooks, deck furniture, and especially planking.  Dyed black, it stands in for Ebony, without the hassle of toxic and invasive wood flour.
 
It should be worth the effort, despite the harvest challenge.  Even if your stock winds up stained by the fungus, it will still be as suitable for our purposes as anything you can find.

I have to join you Hank.  I have to admit that I do not know the meaning of run out in this context.  From how it is used, I have been taking it to mean out of round.  But it is an awkward term unless it means that when the quill is extended it comes out at an angle.  The bearings not being precise.

I have to join you Hank.  I have to admit that I do not know the meaning of run out in this context.  From how it is used, I have been taking it to mean out of round.  But it is an awkward term unless it means that when the quill is extended it comes out at an angle.  The bearings not being precise.

My thinking on the situation is that the two important strakes for a successful bottom planking are the wale and the garboard.  It is important that the garboard absorb the first part of the arc from the baseline horizontal at the bow and what it can of the excess at the sternpost rabbet ( or arc if double ended).  All this while keeping its outer edge a straight line.  Because of this, I propose that a sacrifice of economy was made and the garboard was often cut from a plank that was often up to twice the width of the other planking stock.  In the spirit of pay me now, or pay me a lot more later.
Given that the seam at the stem-keel-stern rabbets are at the intersection of two different planes of force/flex/stress and failure is difficult to repair, a dinky garboard could be a disaster.

My thinking on the situation is that the two important strakes for a successful bottom planking are the wale and the garboard.  It is important that the garboard absorb the first part of the arc from the baseline horizontal at the bow and what it can of the excess at the sternpost rabbet ( or arc if double ended).  All this while keeping its outer edge a straight line.  Because of this, I propose that a sacrifice of economy was made and the garboard was often cut from a plank that was often up to twice the width of the other planking stock.  In the spirit of pay me now, or pay me a lot more later.
Given that the seam at the stem-keel-stern rabbets are at the intersection of two different planes of force/flex/stress and failure is difficult to repair, a dinky garboard could be a disaster.

My thinking on the situation is that the two important strakes for a successful bottom planking are the wale and the garboard.  It is important that the garboard absorb the first part of the arc from the baseline horizontal at the bow and what it can of the excess at the sternpost rabbet ( or arc if double ended).  All this while keeping its outer edge a straight line.  Because of this, I propose that a sacrifice of economy was made and the garboard was often cut from a plank that was often up to twice the width of the other planking stock.  In the spirit of pay me now, or pay me a lot more later.
Given that the seam at the stem-keel-stern rabbets are at the intersection of two different planes of force/flex/stress and failure is difficult to repair, a dinky garboard could be a disaster.

My thinking on the situation is that the two important strakes for a successful bottom planking are the wale and the garboard.  It is important that the garboard absorb the first part of the arc from the baseline horizontal at the bow and what it can of the excess at the sternpost rabbet ( or arc if double ended).  All this while keeping its outer edge a straight line.  Because of this, I propose that a sacrifice of economy was made and the garboard was often cut from a plank that was often up to twice the width of the other planking stock.  In the spirit of pay me now, or pay me a lot more later.
Given that the seam at the stem-keel-stern rabbets are at the intersection of two different planes of force/flex/stress and failure is difficult to repair, a dinky garboard could be a disaster.

My thinking on the situation is that the two important strakes for a successful bottom planking are the wale and the garboard.  It is important that the garboard absorb the first part of the arc from the baseline horizontal at the bow and what it can of the excess at the sternpost rabbet ( or arc if double ended).  All this while keeping its outer edge a straight line.  Because of this, I propose that a sacrifice of economy was made and the garboard was often cut from a plank that was often up to twice the width of the other planking stock.  In the spirit of pay me now, or pay me a lot more later.
Given that the seam at the stem-keel-stern rabbets are at the intersection of two different planes of force/flex/stress and failure is difficult to repair, a dinky garboard could be a disaster.

Way back in literature from the 1960's and earlier, White Pine or pattern makers Pine was suggested as a preferred choice for carved hull - either solid or built up from layers.  What with popularity of POB and the attempts to mitigate its major short coming by adding supporting fill material between the moulds,  Pine is far superior to the odious Balsa in doing it.  It does not need to be the more expensive White Pine. Select grade framing stock works as well.  The problem is getting 2x4 or 1x4 stock into usable thicknesses.  Basswood is also good for this
 
There are two Tilia sp. that are commonly available.  In North America it is Basswood.  In Europe it is Lime (Linden).  Lime has been long a favorite for architectural scale carving.  It carves well and easily in large scale.  It is about twice as hard as Basswood.  Good characteristics are consistent texture, inconspicuous grain, and near invisible pores.  White Pine also shares these characteristics.
I find Basswood and White Pine to be too soft for ship construction.  It is difficult to get sharp edges and hold them.  It does not take much pressure to dent either species.   
Another species that you may find easy to source and be about the same cost is Yellow Poplar.  It is soft and easy to work, but it holds an edge.  The negative is that it is inconsistent in color in a small piece and can be ugly.  If it is hidden inside or painted or stained, it is a good choice.  I do not know how attractive a dyed piece is.    

Way back in literature from the 1960's and earlier, White Pine or pattern makers Pine was suggested as a preferred choice for carved hull - either solid or built up from layers.  What with popularity of POB and the attempts to mitigate its major short coming by adding supporting fill material between the moulds,  Pine is far superior to the odious Balsa in doing it.  It does not need to be the more expensive White Pine. Select grade framing stock works as well.  The problem is getting 2x4 or 1x4 stock into usable thicknesses.  Basswood is also good for this
 
There are two Tilia sp. that are commonly available.  In North America it is Basswood.  In Europe it is Lime (Linden).  Lime has been long a favorite for architectural scale carving.  It carves well and easily in large scale.  It is about twice as hard as Basswood.  Good characteristics are consistent texture, inconspicuous grain, and near invisible pores.  White Pine also shares these characteristics.
I find Basswood and White Pine to be too soft for ship construction.  It is difficult to get sharp edges and hold them.  It does not take much pressure to dent either species.   
Another species that you may find easy to source and be about the same cost is Yellow Poplar.  It is soft and easy to work, but it holds an edge.  The negative is that it is inconsistent in color in a small piece and can be ugly.  If it is hidden inside or painted or stained, it is a good choice.  I do not know how attractive a dyed piece is.    

Bob.
How many bamboo sticks does it take to get a tight fit in the erasers socket?
Duco will bind the bundle after a few minutes.

This tool was the subject of one of the almost daily email ads from StewMac.
It appears to be sturdy, heavy, and adjustable.  It is not especially expensive.  In the spirit of finding a tool in search of a function,  do we have jobs where this may be of use?   Carving decorations,  if you wish to sit up straighter,  or off the ship rigging assembly?

This tool was the subject of one of the almost daily email ads from StewMac.
It appears to be sturdy, heavy, and adjustable.  It is not especially expensive.  In the spirit of finding a tool in search of a function,  do we have jobs where this may be of use?   Carving decorations,  if you wish to sit up straighter,  or off the ship rigging assembly?

Jim makes adapter bushings,  call him and ask if a band that narrow is something he would do.  Otherwise, tolerances that sloppy are probably a very bad idea.

Uhhh John.....  unless you like getting offers from African "princes" to collect lost bank accounts, if you just pony up earnest  money or boner pill ads,  you should maybe edit your email address out of your post, before the web crawlers find it.   And you might want to establish a credible presence here before asking someone to supply you with a copy of copyrighted literature. 
 
I can't get that publisher to reply to an offer to buy plans used in Rif Winfield's books.  The way they botched the Model Shipwright franchise, I doubt that they have the slightest clue about the value of what they have, so I would not bet on their being a reprint.  It is like some suit has a grudge against the now retired editor, but they still own it.

Jorge,
 
Here is the type of vise:
The top of a work surface intended to be clamped by the vise:
The bottom of the work surface with the tongue that fits into the vise:
A mechanics vise bolted to a piece of 2x12 and clamped by the bench vise:
The specific tools for my 9" bandsaw, placed to be at hand:
The 6" steel ruler - I have several and they seem to hide if I do not detail them to a tool.  The bandsaw is heavy enough not to need clamping so I removed the tongue.

Jorge,
 
Here is the type of vise:
The top of a work surface intended to be clamped by the vise:
The bottom of the work surface with the tongue that fits into the vise:
A mechanics vise bolted to a piece of 2x12 and clamped by the bench vise:
The specific tools for my 9" bandsaw, placed to be at hand:
The 6" steel ruler - I have several and they seem to hide if I do not detail them to a tool.  The bandsaw is heavy enough not to need clamping so I removed the tongue.

Jorge,
 
Here is the type of vise:
The top of a work surface intended to be clamped by the vise:
The bottom of the work surface with the tongue that fits into the vise:
A mechanics vise bolted to a piece of 2x12 and clamped by the bench vise:
The specific tools for my 9" bandsaw, placed to be at hand:
The 6" steel ruler - I have several and they seem to hide if I do not detail them to a tool.  The bandsaw is heavy enough not to need clamping so I removed the tongue.