Glenn-UK

Second Planking – Right-Hand Side Second Planking Completed The work on completing the second planking on the right-hand side is now complete. This completed planking represents a big improvement on my skills in this area and I am very pleased with how much ability to plank has developed with this build, especially with the use of lateral plank bending. The correct tapering of the bow and stern planks meant I did not have to add any stealers. My hull fairing skills, particularly around the transom, still requires much more work however. I opted to use boxwood for the second planking with the idea that I could leave the completed planking in their natural state with a nice, varnished finish. On reflection this was perhaps bit optimistic on my part as my completed planking is not as clean and neat I was would have liked. Once I have inspected the completed hull, I will fill in some of the small gaps, either with filler or thin slivers of off-cuts and then I will give the hull a good sand. Once that is done, I will be better placed to make a final decision on weather to paint and copper or to simply varnish the boxwood. I have attached a few photos of the completed planking.

Second Planking – Right-Hand Side Second Planking Progress The work on completing the second planking on the right hand side is progressing well. I only have 5 strakes left to fit. I have used a butt shift pattern and this has made fitting the planks so much easier. As with the left and side I fitted 192mmL planks, noting 96mmL and 64th scale planks would be more representative of the actual ships 6m planks. Around the bow area I have used the lateral bend method to ensure I have a good fit, and I now fully understand why Chuck's method works so well. After completing the planking under the transom, I started to taper the stern planks which require a double taper. From the midships they are tapered down to 4mm at the narrowest point. From there a reverse taper is applied up to 4.5mm where the plank sits against the stern post. By keeping the faith the tapering (at bow and stern), and regularly checking the taper points, no stealers will be required. The planks, in the attached photo’s, look a bit messy, but once the planking is complete and they have been sanded smooth it will look much better.

Second Planking – Right-Hand Side Second Planking Started I have started the second planking on the right-hand side. I have completed the section down to where the main wale will be fitted. I still need to clear all the gun ports. I will be using a butt shift pattern for fitting the remaining planks down to the keel. I will also be adding the lateral bend for planks fitted around the bow area. I will taper the stern planks once I have planks under the transom. If all goes to plan,a s with the right-hand side, there should be no need to fit any steelers.

Thank you.

I have now added a filler bit (Yellow circle) which sorted out the troublesome plank. I also added a smaller filler shim (blue arrow).

Thank you

Thank you Kevin

Thank you. I'm planning on adding a shaped filler plank to correct the fault with the troublesome plank. The lateral bending certainly was the way to go as was the 4 butt shift pattern, albeit I went for simulated 12m long planks rather than 6m long planks.

Than you, I am pleased with the outcome and hopefully, the RHS will even better.

Thank you. I kept the checking the gap measurements when working out the tapering requirements and I was really pleased everything worked out.

Second Planking – Left-Hand Side Second Planking Completed I have finally completed the second planking on the left-hand side of the Indy. I used a 4-butt shift pattern for the planks below the water line which really made the task a lot easier. I kept up with the tapering and lateral bending around the bow, I did not have to resort to adding any stealers. I also tapered the planks at the stern, below the transom. Compared with all of my previous builds the completed Indy LHS second planking is a big improvement but there is still plenty of room for improvement. I am planning on painting the upper section black and yellow, as per the plans. I am still undecided if I will leave the area below the water line as plain boxwood or if I will go ahead and add the copper tiles. The copper tile finish does have great appeal. I remember adding over 3000 copper tiles when I built HMS Victory (Caldercraft) and loved how the hull looked. I will now spend the few weeks adding the second planking to the right-hand side. In the meantime I have included a few photo's of the completed LHS planking.

Such a shame for you. I did wonder about having one side bare and one side copper on my model just for the contrast.

Second Planking – 4 Butt Shift Hull Planking As the planking continues on the left-hand side very slowly I have now moved on to using a 4 butt shift pattern when fitting the planks. Historically hull planks seemed to be 5 to 6m long which equates to approx. 94cm at 64th scale. I decided that the plank lengths would be best suited to a 4 butt shift pattern arrangement if the plank lengths were divisible by 6, e.g. 96mm. After a bit of experimentation with spreadsheet arrangements I decided to double the plank lengths to 192mm and came up with the following plan. After fitting three planks up from the keel, I determined the maximum infill area would be 90mm, thus requiring 18 full width 5mm planks. For easy of tapering planks I made some simple calculations, as can be seen in the next photo. I then made a template based on the calculations to mark the positions on the hull for 54mm (3mm), 72mm (4mm) and 81mm (4.5mm). The 4.5mm became necessary as the planks taper towards the stern down to 4mm and then from that point to the stern post requires reverse taper back to 4.5mm. The 4.5mm reference also became an important taper reference point between the 5mm and 4mm run from midships toward the stern. As I started to add the planks I found it beneficial to have a template 192mm long plank with marks set for the planking sequence. For the bow planks I am taking a plank a long length and applying the required taper. Next I apply the lateral bend, as can be seen in the next photo. When I am happy with how the plank looks I trim the plank into the required lengths. The next photo shows the stern area, which looks Ok apart from one plank which caused me no end of problems to get a decent fit (blue arrow). In the end I decided to live with it as this area will be painted black so filler will hide the bad workmanship. The next photo shows the stern area. I have never planked a bow area this well before but it is certainly not of a high standard. The blue arrow indicated where the next plank join will be. The final picture shows where a plank join is on the marker (blue arrow). It also shows the 81mm (4.5mm plank width) position (yellow arrows).

I did not look at any plans. I found that the hull plank repair work on HMS Victory were 6m long, click link for description. Also found a reference on Ships Of Scale which mentioned 5 to 6m lengths. With my limited knowledge I therefore assumed max plank length would be 6m

Once I have checked where the approx. position of the waterline and assuming I have not already starting planking below the waterline I might switch to a 4 butt shift pattern. This means, when completed, if the boxwood planking looks Ok I might leave as bare wood rather than covering with the copper. From a little bit research it would appear the typical hull plank length would be 5 to 6 metres. 6m would equate to 94cm at 64th scale (6000/64 = 93.75). I understand the 4 butt shift pattern follows a bulkhead sequence 1 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 4. First plank starts at 1. The next full plank beneath would start at position 3, next full plank beneath would then start at position 5, next would start at position 2 and then position 4 before the sequence repeats again. Therefore if I make each full plank 96mm (which is divisible by 6 and a length of 16mm per position) then I will have a nice repeatable sequence for the 4 butt shift pattern as can be seen in the attached picture and pdf file. I would welcome any comments if my research / calculations are in error. 4 Butt Shift.pdf

I had already started to shift the joint position. Maybe not as much as you have suggested, many thanks for the great advice. The top area will be filled, sanded and painted so will probably not be that noticeable. Depending on how the planking turns out below the water line it will either be left as planked or I will add the copper tiles. I had been considered adding planks lengths of 90 to 100mm to simulate 6m ship planks with a 4 butt shift pattern

I am enjoying working with boxwood

Second Planking – Very slow but steady progress The second planking is proving to be a task that requires a great deal of patience. I have completed the planking from midships to under the transom on the left-hand side. I have not made a brilliant job of it but it is much better that any of my previous models. I have removed the excess planking material from the left-hand side gunport openings, noting the opening still require sanding to get a nice smooth finish. I should have taken more care when selecting the planks as there is quite a bit of colour difference with the boxwood planks. However as the area above the waterline will probably be filled and painted black and yellow it is not really an issue for me. The bow planks are a good fit in the stem rabbet. I have now started to taper the planks complete with a lateral edge bend which is slowing the progress down somewhat. The next plank to be fitted is currently having the lateral edge bend applied.

Looks good. What plank lengths are you using for the 4 butt shift pattern?

Hello Kevin I agree we all make mistakes, me more than most. I'm certainly not rushing this task. Today I added two planks of infill and one plank below the main wale plank. Admittedly it took me quite a bit of time to shape the tapered bow and stern infill planks for a nice tight fit.

Second Planking In Slow Progress I am really taking my time with this planking. That said I have already made a couple of schoolboy errors when planking over the gun ports. Thankfully this area will be sanded smooth and painted so no harm done. When positioning the plank which will located beneath the main wale I was pleased to note the midship infill area would be 3 planks wide. I was able to use Titebond 111 for the first few plank but resorted to using ca glue for the plank positioned under the main wale plank. I was happy that the lower edge of the lowest plank aligned with the lower edge of the stern counter. The midship area is shown in the next photo, noting the planks require a taper toward the bow (yellow arrow) and a planking error (blue arrow) where I cut the plank beneath the area under the gunport opening. I did add a steeler to offset the taper beneath the gunports in the photo below Although I was being careful I have noted a couple of areas where the planks are not quite sitting flush with each other as can be seen in the photo below. This can be sorted out with a bit of sanding (or filling) before the paint is applied

Thank you. I am going very slow and steady for the second planking.

Start Of Second Planking I have taken the plunge and started the second planking. I am taking my time with this process and making sure I am really happy with each plank fit before adding the glue. As per the instructions I started with the plank that sits below the outer bulwark patterns. I used Titebond III and a series of clamps for the first plank. I will probably resort to ca glue for the lower planks. I have added the first two planks and also planked in the area between the bow and stern outer bulwark patterns. The next plank to be added will the one which will be used to indicate the position of the main wale. The plank has been soaked in water and clamped to the hull and will be left to dry overnight.

Amati Planking Clamp Set A7377 | Cornwall Model Boats

Thanks Glenn (USA) from Glenn (UK)