fmartins

Ok, so after a few weeks with a persistent flu (as well as lot of work) here are the developments in the shipyard...
 
I started the planking... and to be frank man is it difficult. I've purchased a few books on planking and read a lot of tutorials here in the forum but when push comes to shove you don't really know what you're doing (at least I didn't). I tried splitting each station in bands and calculating the width of each plank, but they are so small I couldn't do a proper job (perhaps when I buy my saws - still looking for some proxxon table and scroll saws).

Each strake or plank is taking a lot of time because tiny imperfections ruin them (for instance, I start sanding one and then it gets on the grain and takes more material than supposed - ruined, and I have to start over...).
 
I bought a dremel Stylo (which is weaker than a normal dremel) so I can sand but not so deeply... but it is still too strong. I also purchased two battery-powered micro sanders (rotating and going straight going) and I hope it is less harsh on the veneer, but customs have withheld them for inspections / tariffs . When they get here I'll use them and tell you if they are worth it or not.

But mostly I've been using my handy, trustworthy homemade sanding block.
 

But because they're so thin, the planks are giving me too much trouble, and I doubt they will look nice in the end. Good thing I intend to paint the hull as in the Paris Museum model, so even if they don't look super nice, paint will cover most defects...
 

But it was nice to try my hand at drop planks and stealers (I had to compensate for my miscalculations / missanding of planks)..
 

 
I got bored of the planking and also didn't know how to do the turn of the bilge properly so I stopped for a while to work on the upper sides. As I reported before, I would try a veneer panel with scoring to simulate planking but I had to get the pattern of the cannon windows...

And after cutting them. I really regret not being attentive to simulating the curve of the decks and the cannon windows are really out of alignment. Well, next time I'll do it properly...
 

 
Good thing that model is so small that the camera is unforgiving in the details but at naked eye you can't perceive most of these awful problems...

I'll leave you with a picture of what it looks like right now:
 

So, that's it for now... Thanks for being with me in this adventure! Bye from Brazil!
 
 

Ok, so I've kept working on the transom area. I kept adding plank up, and I had a piece of balsa wood to fill that I've cut away (balsa is too soft).
The planks were sanded flush later (to the naked eye but with a close picture you can still see some level issues).
 

I tried adding a harder wood (brazilian pink cedar, which is what I had around).
 
Then I sanded these little filler pieces for hours until I had the geometry right (the angle close to the balconies, the side areas, etc).
 

 

By the way I made two holes by mistake, plugged them but they will be on a canon hole, so no problem... 
 
Then I started adding the "columns" where the windows and doors sit:
 

 
I still have no idea how to make the windows / window frames etc, because it is very small (windows have a width space, the framing and all at 1.1mm, 0.0433071 inches according to dear uncle Google).
 
 
By the way these pictures are taken through a magnifying glass... To be frank I wish I could go back and make it at least twice as big. It is incredibly difficult to my poor skills to work on such a scale...
 

For reference:
 

These three fillers are not glued to the ship yet, because I still need to think about how to have windows there...
 

Then I started working on the bow - the doors and hinges are made of paper. I got a white-ish paper for the door as the paint will cover but the "hinges" are from black paper so the paint will not cover them entirely.
 
I tried adding a video so you can see the size of one of those hinges. I have no idea how many of those I lost before I could glue to the door...
IMG_0058.MOV    
Here is the finished procedure (there are two latrines but they ate glued to the grating - which I also have no idea how to make at this scale - and two stairs, but these are attached to the catheads further along the road):
 

 
First coat of paint:
 

To finish, I painted the stairs as in the french museum model:
 

 
Next steps:
- Figure out what to do for the windows
--- I tried using black paper and adding the window framing on paper glued to it but it is too small <-- given up
--- trying homemade low cost photoetching? 
--- print the windows in "wood" paper to simulate?
--- I accept suggestions!
- Start planning/doing the planking (spilling? spiling? spoiling? I heard these three terms and I infer they are the same thing)
 
Ah, by the way under the admiral's guidance I started a Youtube channel for this build. It is supposed to make me commit to the build on a regular basis according to her... I'm not sure there are rules for that but I can assure you it is not commercial (https://www.youtube.com/@ModelismoCaseiro), please someone let me know it this goes against any rules here.
 
See you next update!
 
 
 

Ok, so after a few weeks with a persistent flu (as well as lot of work) here are the developments in the shipyard...
 
I started the planking... and to be frank man is it difficult. I've purchased a few books on planking and read a lot of tutorials here in the forum but when push comes to shove you don't really know what you're doing (at least I didn't). I tried splitting each station in bands and calculating the width of each plank, but they are so small I couldn't do a proper job (perhaps when I buy my saws - still looking for some proxxon table and scroll saws).

Each strake or plank is taking a lot of time because tiny imperfections ruin them (for instance, I start sanding one and then it gets on the grain and takes more material than supposed - ruined, and I have to start over...).
 
I bought a dremel Stylo (which is weaker than a normal dremel) so I can sand but not so deeply... but it is still too strong. I also purchased two battery-powered micro sanders (rotating and going straight going) and I hope it is less harsh on the veneer, but customs have withheld them for inspections / tariffs . When they get here I'll use them and tell you if they are worth it or not.

But mostly I've been using my handy, trustworthy homemade sanding block.
 

But because they're so thin, the planks are giving me too much trouble, and I doubt they will look nice in the end. Good thing I intend to paint the hull as in the Paris Museum model, so even if they don't look super nice, paint will cover most defects...
 

But it was nice to try my hand at drop planks and stealers (I had to compensate for my miscalculations / missanding of planks)..
 

 
I got bored of the planking and also didn't know how to do the turn of the bilge properly so I stopped for a while to work on the upper sides. As I reported before, I would try a veneer panel with scoring to simulate planking but I had to get the pattern of the cannon windows...

And after cutting them. I really regret not being attentive to simulating the curve of the decks and the cannon windows are really out of alignment. Well, next time I'll do it properly...
 

 
Good thing that model is so small that the camera is unforgiving in the details but at naked eye you can't perceive most of these awful problems...

I'll leave you with a picture of what it looks like right now:
 

So, that's it for now... Thanks for being with me in this adventure! Bye from Brazil!
 
 

Ok, so I've kept working on the transom area. I kept adding plank up, and I had a piece of balsa wood to fill that I've cut away (balsa is too soft).
The planks were sanded flush later (to the naked eye but with a close picture you can still see some level issues).
 

I tried adding a harder wood (brazilian pink cedar, which is what I had around).
 
Then I sanded these little filler pieces for hours until I had the geometry right (the angle close to the balconies, the side areas, etc).
 

 

By the way I made two holes by mistake, plugged them but they will be on a canon hole, so no problem... 
 
Then I started adding the "columns" where the windows and doors sit:
 

 
I still have no idea how to make the windows / window frames etc, because it is very small (windows have a width space, the framing and all at 1.1mm, 0.0433071 inches according to dear uncle Google).
 
 
By the way these pictures are taken through a magnifying glass... To be frank I wish I could go back and make it at least twice as big. It is incredibly difficult to my poor skills to work on such a scale...
 

For reference:
 

These three fillers are not glued to the ship yet, because I still need to think about how to have windows there...
 

Then I started working on the bow - the doors and hinges are made of paper. I got a white-ish paper for the door as the paint will cover but the "hinges" are from black paper so the paint will not cover them entirely.
 
I tried adding a video so you can see the size of one of those hinges. I have no idea how many of those I lost before I could glue to the door...
IMG_0058.MOV    
Here is the finished procedure (there are two latrines but they ate glued to the grating - which I also have no idea how to make at this scale - and two stairs, but these are attached to the catheads further along the road):
 

 
First coat of paint:
 

To finish, I painted the stairs as in the french museum model:
 

 
Next steps:
- Figure out what to do for the windows
--- I tried using black paper and adding the window framing on paper glued to it but it is too small <-- given up
--- trying homemade low cost photoetching? 
--- print the windows in "wood" paper to simulate?
--- I accept suggestions!
- Start planning/doing the planking (spilling? spiling? spoiling? I heard these three terms and I infer they are the same thing)
 
Ah, by the way under the admiral's guidance I started a Youtube channel for this build. It is supposed to make me commit to the build on a regular basis according to her... I'm not sure there are rules for that but I can assure you it is not commercial (https://www.youtube.com/@ModelismoCaseiro), please someone let me know it this goes against any rules here.
 
See you next update!
 
 
 

Well well well look who's back? It's a-me! Almost eight years later, I'm back to the shop!
 
Last time I posted I was in the final stages of my PhD (last post was in June 2017 and I got my PhD in August 2017). Lots of stuff happened in between - started working full time as a professor, finished a post doc fellowship, got married, Covid-19 and all that nightmare, started another PhD, got a rabbit to join our cat, changed universities, and here I am. All this time I never really stopped thinking about the small ship tucked away in a drawer... I just needed a push and my wife always asked me "when are you going back to your little boat?" (either she really likes my "skills" [pun] or the wants me off her back so she watch her soap operas in peace). I'm in a new apartment and I have less space now, but I'll make do.
 
In the meantime, I never stopped watching videos and reading about model boat building and now I can see so many mistakes in this build. But I won't abandon it and simply start anew. I kinda owe it to the model hidden away all these years that kept staring at me... So, let's go back at it. 
 
The transom in the Parisian Museum is curved almost round with planks bending at the back, and I should've seen it but it is too late. So I found two commercial kits (a wooden one and a plastic one) and both of them have a flush part at the back. I tried the same.

 
Here's my attempt. I ended up poking my finger with a scalpel (so many years without using one!), but it's the price to pay. Now I can say I bled for this ship heheheh
 
Here's my process:
 
First I tried gluing planks but in such a small dimension it didn't work (who am I kidding?). 

 
Then I thought about it for a second and I found a "solution" - Use transparent double sided tape, taped to my cutting mat and put the veneer planks side by side. This has two goals - 1, stopping them from moving while they are being glued; and 2, protecting one side from the glue. Since the veneer planks are 0.4 mm (0.015748 inches? sorry I don't know American units), I had to use CA.
 

I tried first 4 planks to see if they would hold after ungluing the set from the cutting mat and it worked fine (a bit fragile but it went well). 
 
 
I then made a paper template and used it set all planks. A bit of careful filing and sanding later: 

 
Here's the final result:

It took me a huge amount of time to do such a simple task, I poked badly my finger with a scalpel (it will take i believe 2 weeks until it is well again), but man am I happy to be doing this again. I can see so many defects and problems with this ship but I do love it so much. 
 
I'll try to work on the transom area and start planking from the bottom (garboard up).
 
See you soon!
 
 

Ok, so after a few weeks with a persistent flu (as well as lot of work) here are the developments in the shipyard...
 
I started the planking... and to be frank man is it difficult. I've purchased a few books on planking and read a lot of tutorials here in the forum but when push comes to shove you don't really know what you're doing (at least I didn't). I tried splitting each station in bands and calculating the width of each plank, but they are so small I couldn't do a proper job (perhaps when I buy my saws - still looking for some proxxon table and scroll saws).

Each strake or plank is taking a lot of time because tiny imperfections ruin them (for instance, I start sanding one and then it gets on the grain and takes more material than supposed - ruined, and I have to start over...).
 
I bought a dremel Stylo (which is weaker than a normal dremel) so I can sand but not so deeply... but it is still too strong. I also purchased two battery-powered micro sanders (rotating and going straight going) and I hope it is less harsh on the veneer, but customs have withheld them for inspections / tariffs . When they get here I'll use them and tell you if they are worth it or not.

But mostly I've been using my handy, trustworthy homemade sanding block.
 

But because they're so thin, the planks are giving me too much trouble, and I doubt they will look nice in the end. Good thing I intend to paint the hull as in the Paris Museum model, so even if they don't look super nice, paint will cover most defects...
 

But it was nice to try my hand at drop planks and stealers (I had to compensate for my miscalculations / missanding of planks)..
 

 
I got bored of the planking and also didn't know how to do the turn of the bilge properly so I stopped for a while to work on the upper sides. As I reported before, I would try a veneer panel with scoring to simulate planking but I had to get the pattern of the cannon windows...

And after cutting them. I really regret not being attentive to simulating the curve of the decks and the cannon windows are really out of alignment. Well, next time I'll do it properly...
 

 
Good thing that model is so small that the camera is unforgiving in the details but at naked eye you can't perceive most of these awful problems...

I'll leave you with a picture of what it looks like right now:
 

So, that's it for now... Thanks for being with me in this adventure! Bye from Brazil!
 
 

Ok, so after a few weeks with a persistent flu (as well as lot of work) here are the developments in the shipyard...
 
I started the planking... and to be frank man is it difficult. I've purchased a few books on planking and read a lot of tutorials here in the forum but when push comes to shove you don't really know what you're doing (at least I didn't). I tried splitting each station in bands and calculating the width of each plank, but they are so small I couldn't do a proper job (perhaps when I buy my saws - still looking for some proxxon table and scroll saws).

Each strake or plank is taking a lot of time because tiny imperfections ruin them (for instance, I start sanding one and then it gets on the grain and takes more material than supposed - ruined, and I have to start over...).
 
I bought a dremel Stylo (which is weaker than a normal dremel) so I can sand but not so deeply... but it is still too strong. I also purchased two battery-powered micro sanders (rotating and going straight going) and I hope it is less harsh on the veneer, but customs have withheld them for inspections / tariffs . When they get here I'll use them and tell you if they are worth it or not.

But mostly I've been using my handy, trustworthy homemade sanding block.
 

But because they're so thin, the planks are giving me too much trouble, and I doubt they will look nice in the end. Good thing I intend to paint the hull as in the Paris Museum model, so even if they don't look super nice, paint will cover most defects...
 

But it was nice to try my hand at drop planks and stealers (I had to compensate for my miscalculations / missanding of planks)..
 

 
I got bored of the planking and also didn't know how to do the turn of the bilge properly so I stopped for a while to work on the upper sides. As I reported before, I would try a veneer panel with scoring to simulate planking but I had to get the pattern of the cannon windows...

And after cutting them. I really regret not being attentive to simulating the curve of the decks and the cannon windows are really out of alignment. Well, next time I'll do it properly...
 

 
Good thing that model is so small that the camera is unforgiving in the details but at naked eye you can't perceive most of these awful problems...

I'll leave you with a picture of what it looks like right now:
 

So, that's it for now... Thanks for being with me in this adventure! Bye from Brazil!
 
 

Ok, so I've kept working on the transom area. I kept adding plank up, and I had a piece of balsa wood to fill that I've cut away (balsa is too soft).
The planks were sanded flush later (to the naked eye but with a close picture you can still see some level issues).
 

I tried adding a harder wood (brazilian pink cedar, which is what I had around).
 
Then I sanded these little filler pieces for hours until I had the geometry right (the angle close to the balconies, the side areas, etc).
 

 

By the way I made two holes by mistake, plugged them but they will be on a canon hole, so no problem... 
 
Then I started adding the "columns" where the windows and doors sit:
 

 
I still have no idea how to make the windows / window frames etc, because it is very small (windows have a width space, the framing and all at 1.1mm, 0.0433071 inches according to dear uncle Google).
 
 
By the way these pictures are taken through a magnifying glass... To be frank I wish I could go back and make it at least twice as big. It is incredibly difficult to my poor skills to work on such a scale...
 

For reference:
 

These three fillers are not glued to the ship yet, because I still need to think about how to have windows there...
 

Then I started working on the bow - the doors and hinges are made of paper. I got a white-ish paper for the door as the paint will cover but the "hinges" are from black paper so the paint will not cover them entirely.
 
I tried adding a video so you can see the size of one of those hinges. I have no idea how many of those I lost before I could glue to the door...
IMG_0058.MOV    
Here is the finished procedure (there are two latrines but they ate glued to the grating - which I also have no idea how to make at this scale - and two stairs, but these are attached to the catheads further along the road):
 

 
First coat of paint:
 

To finish, I painted the stairs as in the french museum model:
 

 
Next steps:
- Figure out what to do for the windows
--- I tried using black paper and adding the window framing on paper glued to it but it is too small <-- given up
--- trying homemade low cost photoetching? 
--- print the windows in "wood" paper to simulate?
--- I accept suggestions!
- Start planning/doing the planking (spilling? spiling? spoiling? I heard these three terms and I infer they are the same thing)
 
Ah, by the way under the admiral's guidance I started a Youtube channel for this build. It is supposed to make me commit to the build on a regular basis according to her... I'm not sure there are rules for that but I can assure you it is not commercial (https://www.youtube.com/@ModelismoCaseiro), please someone let me know it this goes against any rules here.
 
See you next update!
 
 
 

To deal with the fleixibility and to keep bulkheads at a 90 degree angle with the false keel, I glued a lot of rubber blocks between them... I also added the space for the cannon ports...
 

 
The decks, however, were not glued. It was just a dry run to see if they would fit. I also started fairing the bulkheads, but with extreme care because, again, it was a bit fleixble      ...
 
 
 

Before anything, English is not my mother language so please be kind to my mistakes (there will be too many I'm afraid) and lack of nautical jargon.
 
Well, this is my first build. You may think it's a pretty bold move for a beginner to model such an intricate ship as the Royal Louis but I fell in love at first sight with the model at the Musée National de la Marine in Paris a couple years ago. At the time, I had no interest whatsoever in ship modeling, which is a pity, and missed the opportunity of taking hundreds of pictures at the museum. Either way, that's the one...
 

 
The model at the museum is huge - I think it's larger than 2.5 meters (8.2 feet?). I wanted to build a model ship like everyone in the forum but I live in a small appartment in Sao Paulo Brazil so I had to settle for something smaller. I also didn't want to buy a kit (another risky choice for a rookie) so I got both model ship makers and historical plans to plan my build. In the end, I planned my little Royal Louis to have a 25 cm hull (9.8 inches?) and sit comfortably on a very small shelf when done. Another reason for the small size is that I don't have much time so, a larger model would take too much time preparing the wood, etc etc.
 
I'm no Lloyd Mccafery so my model will be full of flaws and probably horrible in the end, but I guess it's a nice experience and you can only learn stuff by doing it. I really hope I can learn something from it. Lots of stuff will be out of scale or I'll end up using inadequate materials/techniques, but in the end I'll have fun.
 
I used POB as a start as you can see in the next pic...
 

 
The bulkheads are really thin, so wood was not an option (at least for my poor skills). I tried with a couples different types of wood but all of them felt too brittle to my taste, so the internal false keel / bulkheads were all made of styrene. They do have some flexibility but at least I didn't break all of the bulkheads. So far, so good.
 
   

To fix the 'flexibility' problem, I also added some wood (balsa - I know it's not the best, but it was easy to find, easy to glue, and really easy to sand) between the bulkheads.
 

 

 

 
This made all the fairing thing much easier... (improvised sand block in the lastpicture...     )
 
The problem with the wood-covered styrene deck is that it's really flat. I could sand it to give it a more natural curve, but instead I thought of something else...
 
I had some thick card paper lying around so I improvised some deck planking on top of it... Also, it's not the standard deck planking pattern (I only found a tutorial on deck planking a long way after I had done it).
 
It's a bit out of scale but whatever, it's already pretty small for me      ... 
 
 
 

After a few attempts, I think that the deck planking was not so horrible...
 


 
The hole you guys see in the middle section was the fruit of my illusion to add some real miniature grating      ... All the gunports were also painted red. Due to the small size, I think I'll have to use CA glue to secure the bow planks in place, so instead of wood, I carved/sanded a plastic piece (to make it easier, I think...).
 
The same was done with the other decks...
 

 
With a bit of improvised weathering (yeah everything's improvised!!!      )
 

 
 

To fix the 'flexibility' problem, I also added some wood (balsa - I know it's not the best, but it was easy to find, easy to glue, and really easy to sand) between the bulkheads.
 

 

 

 
This made all the fairing thing much easier... (improvised sand block in the lastpicture...     )
 
The problem with the wood-covered styrene deck is that it's really flat. I could sand it to give it a more natural curve, but instead I thought of something else...
 
I had some thick card paper lying around so I improvised some deck planking on top of it... Also, it's not the standard deck planking pattern (I only found a tutorial on deck planking a long way after I had done it).
 
It's a bit out of scale but whatever, it's already pretty small for me      ... 
 
 
 

Ok, so I've kept working on the transom area. I kept adding plank up, and I had a piece of balsa wood to fill that I've cut away (balsa is too soft).
The planks were sanded flush later (to the naked eye but with a close picture you can still see some level issues).
 

I tried adding a harder wood (brazilian pink cedar, which is what I had around).
 
Then I sanded these little filler pieces for hours until I had the geometry right (the angle close to the balconies, the side areas, etc).
 

 

By the way I made two holes by mistake, plugged them but they will be on a canon hole, so no problem... 
 
Then I started adding the "columns" where the windows and doors sit:
 

 
I still have no idea how to make the windows / window frames etc, because it is very small (windows have a width space, the framing and all at 1.1mm, 0.0433071 inches according to dear uncle Google).
 
 
By the way these pictures are taken through a magnifying glass... To be frank I wish I could go back and make it at least twice as big. It is incredibly difficult to my poor skills to work on such a scale...
 

For reference:
 

These three fillers are not glued to the ship yet, because I still need to think about how to have windows there...
 

Then I started working on the bow - the doors and hinges are made of paper. I got a white-ish paper for the door as the paint will cover but the "hinges" are from black paper so the paint will not cover them entirely.
 
I tried adding a video so you can see the size of one of those hinges. I have no idea how many of those I lost before I could glue to the door...
IMG_0058.MOV    
Here is the finished procedure (there are two latrines but they ate glued to the grating - which I also have no idea how to make at this scale - and two stairs, but these are attached to the catheads further along the road):
 

 
First coat of paint:
 

To finish, I painted the stairs as in the french museum model:
 

 
Next steps:
- Figure out what to do for the windows
--- I tried using black paper and adding the window framing on paper glued to it but it is too small <-- given up
--- trying homemade low cost photoetching? 
--- print the windows in "wood" paper to simulate?
--- I accept suggestions!
- Start planning/doing the planking (spilling? spiling? spoiling? I heard these three terms and I infer they are the same thing)
 
Ah, by the way under the admiral's guidance I started a Youtube channel for this build. It is supposed to make me commit to the build on a regular basis according to her... I'm not sure there are rules for that but I can assure you it is not commercial (https://www.youtube.com/@ModelismoCaseiro), please someone let me know it this goes against any rules here.
 
See you next update!
 
 
 

Before anything, English is not my mother language so please be kind to my mistakes (there will be too many I'm afraid) and lack of nautical jargon.
 
Well, this is my first build. You may think it's a pretty bold move for a beginner to model such an intricate ship as the Royal Louis but I fell in love at first sight with the model at the Musée National de la Marine in Paris a couple years ago. At the time, I had no interest whatsoever in ship modeling, which is a pity, and missed the opportunity of taking hundreds of pictures at the museum. Either way, that's the one...
 

 
The model at the museum is huge - I think it's larger than 2.5 meters (8.2 feet?). I wanted to build a model ship like everyone in the forum but I live in a small appartment in Sao Paulo Brazil so I had to settle for something smaller. I also didn't want to buy a kit (another risky choice for a rookie) so I got both model ship makers and historical plans to plan my build. In the end, I planned my little Royal Louis to have a 25 cm hull (9.8 inches?) and sit comfortably on a very small shelf when done. Another reason for the small size is that I don't have much time so, a larger model would take too much time preparing the wood, etc etc.
 
I'm no Lloyd Mccafery so my model will be full of flaws and probably horrible in the end, but I guess it's a nice experience and you can only learn stuff by doing it. I really hope I can learn something from it. Lots of stuff will be out of scale or I'll end up using inadequate materials/techniques, but in the end I'll have fun.
 
I used POB as a start as you can see in the next pic...
 

 
The bulkheads are really thin, so wood was not an option (at least for my poor skills). I tried with a couples different types of wood but all of them felt too brittle to my taste, so the internal false keel / bulkheads were all made of styrene. They do have some flexibility but at least I didn't break all of the bulkheads. So far, so good.
 
   

Thank you @fmartins for your kind feedback.
As for craftsmanship, I'm not so sure. Look what happened recently: La Belle fell out of my hands...
Luckily, all is well again. 
I made a small binnacle. My La Belle will now be able to find her way to her final resting place in the Gulf of Mexico.


Cheers,
Gregor

I have just found your log and I'm amazed at your craftsmanship! This truly awesome! Wow, no words, really! What woods are you using? I'm asking that because I'm thinking about building a similar ship in the future and I'm research woods... Again, congrats! I'll follow it along now on

I have just found your log and I'm amazed at your craftsmanship! This truly awesome! Wow, no words, really! What woods are you using? I'm asking that because I'm thinking about building a similar ship in the future and I'm research woods... Again, congrats! I'll follow it along now on

Only a small update: the galion, inspired by Boudriot and much simplified.




I hope to find some time to do the deadeyes on starboard and the rudder.
 
Cheers,
Gregor

Dear all
 
As I am currently immersed in planking, I thought it might be useful to share my way of spilling planks.
In my fishing boat log I have presented in detail the way the plank run can be defined but it is a long and difficult read. Showing how to spill planks is much easier and perhaps will help some builders. 
 
So lets spill a plank in the fishing boat. T he positions of all planks have been marked on the port side and these positions will need to be transferred over to the starboard side as we go along. The planks should be twins but in reality they never are, at least in my boats so every plank needs to be individually spilled. 
 
A good compass is needed, this is the one I use
 

The plank we will be making will be a starboard plank, its sister plank on the port side is already installed. A picture is a thousand words: This is the port plank steamed in place and the markings for all the rest of the planks are visible. We need to make this plank for the other side.

Now, every new plank will have two edges. The bottom one that meets the previous plank, and this needs to be shaped so it fits well, and the upper free edge that we will define ourselves based on our markings and planning of the planks but needs to be as fair as possible.
 
I use either very stiff card or thick cardboard to make templates of the bottom edge. I cut pieces as long as possible, hold them close to the edge of the previous plank and use a compass to mark the pattern. I run the compass along the piece of cardboard with the needle on the edge of the previous plank and the pencil tip on the card. Then I cut on the line with a very sharp knife and repeat on the next segment. I glue and connect the pieces into a long continuous card pattern. This is how it should look.

This is 1:10 scale and this plank is 60 cm long. The card needs to lie comfortably without absolutely any edge bend. Even a tiny strain on the card will produce huge gaps on the other end of the plank and wood will not tolerate edge bending (It will, but only a little). This is the most crucial step, if there is any doubt the template must be readjusted. This particular template was the third one. Do not make the card pieces too wide because the angles will change and you ll be getting constantly erratic results.
 
Then, mark the positions of the frames on the card pattern.

Then, very carefully, making sure there is no edge bend at all, secure the card pattern on the wood sheet.

Run a pencil (I use 0.3 mm mechanical one) along the edge and also mark the positions of the frames. This is the result

This is the bottom edge of our plank and should fit closely to the previous plank. We need now to define the upper edge so we need the thickness of the plank at the various frames. On the port side, this thicknesses are already marked. To make sure that the two sides are as similar as possible, I ve been marking the starboard side measuring from the sheer. 




So the upper edge of our plank is marked in all frames.

Now, these widths need to be transferred to the plank, again using the compass. The width at the stem will be defined using the contralateral plank end.



All sites marked.


These points need to be connected but with a fair line. To do this we must use a baten, arranging it so that it is close to all the points.



Now this line, which is the upper edge of the plank, does not pass through all the points but it is ok. Actually, if we put the contralateral plank on the pattern, the widths are exactly the same! 

On this boat I use a very sharp knife to cut the plank with multiple passes, breaking off a segment of the blade every couple of passes. After careful cutting to the lines, the plank is produced.


Placing the plank on the boat, it does not fit well.


No need to panic, it just needs a bit of micro adjustement. We need to find the high spots and carefully sand them so the gaps will start closing. These are the high spots in this case.


After sanding and with a bit of edge bending, the plank seems to fit fine now.


These micro-adjustements and a bit of edge bevelling can continue until the fit is very close but for this boat this is enough, with some filler it will be fine. I also lightly sand the upper edge to smooth out the peaks and make fitting the next plank easier.
 
Both planks steamed in place.

And that's it! Now repeat the process 30 odd times and planking is done. 
 
Vaddoc

Well well well look who's back? It's a-me! Almost eight years later, I'm back to the shop!
 
Last time I posted I was in the final stages of my PhD (last post was in June 2017 and I got my PhD in August 2017). Lots of stuff happened in between - started working full time as a professor, finished a post doc fellowship, got married, Covid-19 and all that nightmare, started another PhD, got a rabbit to join our cat, changed universities, and here I am. All this time I never really stopped thinking about the small ship tucked away in a drawer... I just needed a push and my wife always asked me "when are you going back to your little boat?" (either she really likes my "skills" [pun] or the wants me off her back so she watch her soap operas in peace). I'm in a new apartment and I have less space now, but I'll make do.
 
In the meantime, I never stopped watching videos and reading about model boat building and now I can see so many mistakes in this build. But I won't abandon it and simply start anew. I kinda owe it to the model hidden away all these years that kept staring at me... So, let's go back at it. 
 
The transom in the Parisian Museum is curved almost round with planks bending at the back, and I should've seen it but it is too late. So I found two commercial kits (a wooden one and a plastic one) and both of them have a flush part at the back. I tried the same.

 
Here's my attempt. I ended up poking my finger with a scalpel (so many years without using one!), but it's the price to pay. Now I can say I bled for this ship heheheh
 
Here's my process:
 
First I tried gluing planks but in such a small dimension it didn't work (who am I kidding?). 

 
Then I thought about it for a second and I found a "solution" - Use transparent double sided tape, taped to my cutting mat and put the veneer planks side by side. This has two goals - 1, stopping them from moving while they are being glued; and 2, protecting one side from the glue. Since the veneer planks are 0.4 mm (0.015748 inches? sorry I don't know American units), I had to use CA.
 

I tried first 4 planks to see if they would hold after ungluing the set from the cutting mat and it worked fine (a bit fragile but it went well). 
 
 
I then made a paper template and used it set all planks. A bit of careful filing and sanding later: 

 
Here's the final result:

It took me a huge amount of time to do such a simple task, I poked badly my finger with a scalpel (it will take i believe 2 weeks until it is well again), but man am I happy to be doing this again. I can see so many defects and problems with this ship but I do love it so much. 
 
I'll try to work on the transom area and start planking from the bottom (garboard up).
 
See you soon!
 
 

Full marks for perseverance and creative solutions. Not, perhaps, for stabbing yourself! Please always keep your fingers behind a cutting edge or point!

Well well well look who's back? It's a-me! Almost eight years later, I'm back to the shop!
 
Last time I posted I was in the final stages of my PhD (last post was in June 2017 and I got my PhD in August 2017). Lots of stuff happened in between - started working full time as a professor, finished a post doc fellowship, got married, Covid-19 and all that nightmare, started another PhD, got a rabbit to join our cat, changed universities, and here I am. All this time I never really stopped thinking about the small ship tucked away in a drawer... I just needed a push and my wife always asked me "when are you going back to your little boat?" (either she really likes my "skills" [pun] or the wants me off her back so she watch her soap operas in peace). I'm in a new apartment and I have less space now, but I'll make do.
 
In the meantime, I never stopped watching videos and reading about model boat building and now I can see so many mistakes in this build. But I won't abandon it and simply start anew. I kinda owe it to the model hidden away all these years that kept staring at me... So, let's go back at it. 
 
The transom in the Parisian Museum is curved almost round with planks bending at the back, and I should've seen it but it is too late. So I found two commercial kits (a wooden one and a plastic one) and both of them have a flush part at the back. I tried the same.

 
Here's my attempt. I ended up poking my finger with a scalpel (so many years without using one!), but it's the price to pay. Now I can say I bled for this ship heheheh
 
Here's my process:
 
First I tried gluing planks but in such a small dimension it didn't work (who am I kidding?). 

 
Then I thought about it for a second and I found a "solution" - Use transparent double sided tape, taped to my cutting mat and put the veneer planks side by side. This has two goals - 1, stopping them from moving while they are being glued; and 2, protecting one side from the glue. Since the veneer planks are 0.4 mm (0.015748 inches? sorry I don't know American units), I had to use CA.
 

I tried first 4 planks to see if they would hold after ungluing the set from the cutting mat and it worked fine (a bit fragile but it went well). 
 
 
I then made a paper template and used it set all planks. A bit of careful filing and sanding later: 

 
Here's the final result:

It took me a huge amount of time to do such a simple task, I poked badly my finger with a scalpel (it will take i believe 2 weeks until it is well again), but man am I happy to be doing this again. I can see so many defects and problems with this ship but I do love it so much. 
 
I'll try to work on the transom area and start planking from the bottom (garboard up).
 
See you soon!
 
 

Well well well look who's back? It's a-me! Almost eight years later, I'm back to the shop!
 
Last time I posted I was in the final stages of my PhD (last post was in June 2017 and I got my PhD in August 2017). Lots of stuff happened in between - started working full time as a professor, finished a post doc fellowship, got married, Covid-19 and all that nightmare, started another PhD, got a rabbit to join our cat, changed universities, and here I am. All this time I never really stopped thinking about the small ship tucked away in a drawer... I just needed a push and my wife always asked me "when are you going back to your little boat?" (either she really likes my "skills" [pun] or the wants me off her back so she watch her soap operas in peace). I'm in a new apartment and I have less space now, but I'll make do.
 
In the meantime, I never stopped watching videos and reading about model boat building and now I can see so many mistakes in this build. But I won't abandon it and simply start anew. I kinda owe it to the model hidden away all these years that kept staring at me... So, let's go back at it. 
 
The transom in the Parisian Museum is curved almost round with planks bending at the back, and I should've seen it but it is too late. So I found two commercial kits (a wooden one and a plastic one) and both of them have a flush part at the back. I tried the same.

 
Here's my attempt. I ended up poking my finger with a scalpel (so many years without using one!), but it's the price to pay. Now I can say I bled for this ship heheheh
 
Here's my process:
 
First I tried gluing planks but in such a small dimension it didn't work (who am I kidding?). 

 
Then I thought about it for a second and I found a "solution" - Use transparent double sided tape, taped to my cutting mat and put the veneer planks side by side. This has two goals - 1, stopping them from moving while they are being glued; and 2, protecting one side from the glue. Since the veneer planks are 0.4 mm (0.015748 inches? sorry I don't know American units), I had to use CA.
 

I tried first 4 planks to see if they would hold after ungluing the set from the cutting mat and it worked fine (a bit fragile but it went well). 
 
 
I then made a paper template and used it set all planks. A bit of careful filing and sanding later: 

 
Here's the final result:

It took me a huge amount of time to do such a simple task, I poked badly my finger with a scalpel (it will take i believe 2 weeks until it is well again), but man am I happy to be doing this again. I can see so many defects and problems with this ship but I do love it so much. 
 
I'll try to work on the transom area and start planking from the bottom (garboard up).
 
See you soon!