Glenn-UK

Did you trim the planks at the stern?, i.e no planking in the deadwood area, ready for 2nd planking to align with rudder. Good idea not to trim bow until after glue cured.

HULL ASSEMBLY FIRST PLANKING – PART 3 BUILD MANUAL STEP 138 - 141 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Titebond original glue Old paint brush Gathering the materials required The following kit parts are required for this section of the build: F-43 1mm x 5mm x 650mm strip – Limewood Brass pins Assembly Process – Keel After adding a couple more planks this morning, I reached the point where I like to start planking up from the keel. Although I have measured the width, at the widest point, to be an exact number of plank widths, experience has proven this never usually the case in practise when once they have been glued in position. If I need a slightly thinner plank I prefer to fit it a few planks up from the keel. I have now fitted three full planks from the keel. Bow I found using the clamps, as shown, helps to keep the planks together I have not planked right to the end as this area needs to be left so the 2nd planking will line up with the rudder and keel You can see what a mess I have made of the planking around the stern counter area. Once the edges have been trimmed and then filled & sanded as necessary it will not look to bad.

Great work

Around 30 seconds on each side of the central clamp. I brushed water on before applying the heat. I don't think the plank bender heats the plank to the same amount as a travel iron, which Chuck uses. I used a hairdryer in a previous build which works well but suffers with thermal shutdown

HULL ASSEMBLY FIRST PLANKING – PART 2 BUILD MANUAL STEP 138 - 141 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Titebond original glue Old paint brush Heated planking bender Gathering the materials required The following kit parts are required for this section of the build: F-43 1mm x 5mm x 650mm strip – Limewood Brass pins Assembly Process – Band 1 Planking The first band is 35mm (7 planks) at the widest point which covers 5 of the central bulkheads. Using the dimensions in my banding spreadsheet I marked the required plank widths at the different bow bulkheads for the first right-hand side plank and drew a straight line. I then double checked the line using my tick strip. The first plank is ready to be tapered I repeated the above process for the first left-hand plank, aiming to have a matching pair. Following the method outlined in Chuck’s YouTube video’s I marked the point of the widest gap and then clamped the plank in my bending station. I brushed some water on the plank and then applied some heat, using my plank bender. The bent plank was test fitted and looked to be a good fit. I then tapered the stern section of the plank. I used my plank bender to achieve the required sharp bend up to the stern counter. I applied some glue to the various bulkheads and along the top edge of the plank and secured it place using brass pins. Bow section I found it necessary to use a clamp to secure the plank for the stern counter bend. I have now fitted all the planks in the first band. Bow section. I have kept the bow planking even as both left and right sides are a reasonably good match The discolouration is from the heated plank bender used on fairly dry planks. The major mistake I've made, in my opinion, was applying a slight taper to some of the stern planks. The left and right sides are not a good match. Thankfully this will not be seen when the 2nd planking has been added.

I can get the sharp stern bend with my heated plank bender. I think I will try half planks for the next row of planks.

I totally agree. I have fitted 3 tapered planks per side, the bow looks nice but the stern is not so nice. I am finding it very time consuming to fit each plank at the moment

I am in the process of tapering the 4th plank which is currently clamped in my bending station. From my banding calcs I only need to taper the stern end of the planks from 5mm to 4mm. I know the planking will not be seen but I'm trying to improve my technique so I can practise with the 1st planking. I have not broken any so far and have 12 off spare 5mm x 1mm limewood strips from a previous project. I can always get more stock from Cornwall Model Boats.

Are you planning to join the planks midships. I have been considering this option.

I also muddle through my planking but I am trying to take my time and get it looking better for this build.

No matter how clamps I have I always seem to be one short😂

You've caught me up and will soon be well ahead of me. My first planking will be very slow and steady

HULL ASSEMBLY FIRST PLANKING – PART 1 BUILD MANUAL STEP 138 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Titebond original glue Old paint brush Heated planking bender Gathering the materials required The following kit parts are required for this section of the build: F-43 (1mm x 5mm limewood strips) Brass pins Assembly Process – First Three Planks The build manual indicated the first three planks could be fitted without any tapering so I decided to go ahead and fit the first three planks. This is a picture after the first plank had been glued in place. I decided, after fitting the first plank, that it would be better to bend the planks around the bow section. I soaked the planks in warm water for about 10 minutes and then applied the required bend using my heated plank bender. Picture of the next two planks ready to be fitted. The planks were then fitted without any problems. I am glad I spent time sorting the planks widths, as per my earlier post. Assembly Process – Banding Process I have read and watched videos on planking where the hull is split into bands. I have never tried this method before but thought it would be worth trying on this build. With reference to the attached pdf file. Banding.pdf I had already measured the length of each bulkhead prior to fitting the first three planks so I made the necessary adjustment. I calculated that I would need 20 planks at the widest section, so decided that I would have three planking bands, 2 bands would be 7 planks wide and the third band would be 6 planks wide. The spreadsheet provided me with the required plank widths at the different bulkhead positions. as can be seen in the attached pdf file I then tweaked these calculations so the banding lengths would be easier to measure. I transferred the band 1 dimensions to a sheet of card and cut out the required shape for the bow and stern. I also glued 7 small lengths of planks to double check the maximum band width. I taped these patterns to the hull and marked the lower edge on the bulkheads. The patterns were then removed and I added a banding line using some tape, using the pencil marks as a guide. I have now started to mark up the tick strip, for each bulkhead position, using a planking fan template. This concludes the progress to date. In the next stage I will transfer the tick marks to the next 7 planks so they can be added to the hull. I will also add the lateral edge bends so the planks will lay flat around the bow shaping. I may split each plank into two pieces with a midship join.

Nice work, looking very nice. I have just started the 1st planking

I have no ears of the left hand side but they are all in tact on the right hand side. I did glue the broken ears back in place before the hull pattern was fitted but they have since decided to depart the Sphinx.

Looking good, it takes quite a bit of effort.

Nice work, as always

BUILD THOUGHTS FIRST PLANKING LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Planks In an attempt to get a more even planking I decided it would be a good idea to sort through the planking material and sort into groups based on the plank’s measured depth. I used my digital vernier gauge, checking at both ends of each plank and at several points along the plank. I then marked the depth on the planks, at each end. Picture of the sorted planks These are the rejects as they are too thin, and will only be used only if necessary. These planks are all under 1mm thick (0.8 to 0.9mm), so I plan to use these toward the keel This is the thickest group of planks (1.1 to 1.15mm) and will be the first group of planks used The final group is the 0.95 to 1.05mm grouping. Method I cut some cardboard strips and measured the length of each bulkhead and calculated that I would need 23 planks around the midships, reducing to 14 plank widths at the bow and 19 plank widths at the stern. In the manual James’s noted the first three planks were fitted without any tapering required. I did a dry fit test and concluded it is possible to fit the first three planks without the need to taper. I was a bit concerned with the natural flow of the first plank from the midship section to the stern due to the upward curvature of the hull pattern. I think with glue and pins it should be Ok. This picture shows the upward curve Clamping I also noticed there was quite a gap where the plank sits under the quarter gallery. This required a touch of glue and clamp as the bottom edge of the hull outer pattern was not in contact with the frame.

Looks nice.

I would be honoured to help out but I think my building skills are not good enough.

My build will be much slower. I'm predicting completion around July to September 2022

Thanks Malcolm

Time on my hands today while I was waiting for the realigned upper hull pattern to dry out so I thought I would make some simple assemblies.

GUN DECK ASSEMBLY LOWER CAPSTAN ASSEMBLY BUILD MANUAL STEPS 463 - 469 UPPER CAPSTAN ASSEMBLY BUILD MANUAL STEPS 624 - 628 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Craft knife Flory sanding stick Titebond original glue Old paint brush Gathering the materials required The following kit parts are required for this section of the build: 250 (x2), 251, 252, 253, 254, 437 (x2), 60mm x 6mm dowel 60mm x 6mm dowel Capstan parts ready for assembly Assembly Process - Lower Capstan The 5 x capstan whelps were glued to the two capstan chocks. I then added the capstan lower drum head to the assembly and place the 6mm dowel through the central hole. The lower capstan is starting to take shape With the dowel in place the remaining items were glued to the capstan assembly and the dowel was then removed. The completed capstan assembly Picture of the capstan positioned on the gun deck Assembly Process – Upper Capstan The above process was repeated for the upper capstan assembly, The completed capstan's Both assemblies will be painting red later in the build process.

GUN DECK ASSEMBLY SHIP’S STOVE ASSEMBLY - PART 1 BUILD MANUAL STEPS 409 – 419 & 433 - 434 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Craft knife Flory sanding stick Titebond original glue Old paint brush Gathering the materials required The following kit parts are required for this section of the build: 204, 205 (x2), 206, 207, 208 (x2), 210, 211, 212 (x2), 1mm brass rod Assembly Process The various parts were dry fitted to ensure everything fitted. With no problems detected I followed the build instructions 410 to 419. It is important to note that the one edge of part 212 (x2) required a bevel before they are glued in place. I will add the PE parts later on in the build process, but I did a test fit of the assembly to ship stoves floor pattern. When looking at the remaining build stages I noted it was necessary to use a 1mm drill to open the half-hidden holes so a length of 1mm brass rod can be added.