Phantom by Elijah - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:96 - New York Pilot Boat

[Jparsley]

Card stock will work but you have to make a template for each line Tape will allow you to adjust and quickly be removed

[cobra1951]

Hi Elijah try this stuff. It ships from Hong Kong but if you don't want to wait too long for it try your local car accessory dealer for 3mm pinstriping tape

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3mm-1-8-PinStriping-Pin-Stripe-Tape-SINGLE-LINE-Decor-Decal-Vinyl-Sticker-BLACK-/172031745878?hash=item280de41f56:g:sZoAAOSwxN5WbVYT&vxp=mtr

[Elijah]

I have a question. Would measuring the distance of the curve at the station line and dividing it into four equal lengths, then transferring it back onto the station line, work for lining off a hull? You would do this for every bulkhead. Thanks!

[Canute]

Mathematically it should help in laying the battens out, but I'd double check the curve's smoothness with the old eyeballs. This is the "art" creeping in.

[robnbill]

Elijah,

Find the thinnest black adhesive tape you can. If you can get to an office supply store they have chart tape. Or auto parts stores might have detailing tape. You can get that pretty small and it works great for laying out the hull. I found the thread hard to work with myself.

[mikiek]

I tried string again. It didn't work out well. I guess it's time to try card stock!

image.jpg

The string should be where the pencil is pointing.

Elijah - some will argue with this but here is what I found while planking my hull.

 

The instructions say to mark 4 bands on the bulkheads. They varied in width due to the width of the plank strips call for. The instructions even go as far to say pin a strip (batten) on the marks so you can see how the bands line up.

 

I didn't do this for 2 reasons.

1. Way too much trouble

2. By the time I have planked to the 2nd or 3rd band, it is VERY LIKELY that my planks are off somewhat and they don't end up on the marks. So then you have to recompute everything based on where you are at now (reality) vs. where the plans say you should be. So all that work to mark bands 4, 3, and maybe 2  were a waste of time.

 

I did 1 band at a time and did not worry about the others - until I got there.

 

I'm saying all this because you might consider doing something similar. Whether you are going to start at the keel and work up or at the wale and work down, just focus on getting 1 band right. If you do that, the next band will fall where it needs to.

 

To preach about the proportional dividers some more - if you have these, all you have to do is mark the beginning and end of a band. You don't need marks for each strake in the band - the dividers will tell you how wide each plank needs to be at each bulkhead. They will even self-correct the remaining strakes if you happen to make a strake too wide or too narrow.

 

Not trying to take away what anyone has said here. This is just another option. It worked very well for me. BTW - I just finished my hull this morning.

[Elijah]

Congratulations on finishing planking! I see what you mean, that way you don't need to re-mark each strake after each plank. Thanks! Does anybody know any good deals for French curves?

[mikiek]

I've seen what they call ships curves on Amazon for about $10

[EJ_L]

Any hobby store, Michael's, Hobby Lobby etc. that sells drawing/drafting supplies has them and usually cheap. I bought a set of 3 different sizes for under $10.

[Elijah]

I tried string one last time. Please tell me how it looks! If this time it isn't right, I will find a way to get some art or graphing tape. Thanks in advance!

The last one shows how strakes would lay at the bow, based on my lining off of the hull.

[EJ_L]

It looks like you are on the right track. Your bottom band looks like you have almost twice the width at the stern then you do at the bow. As long as the math works out so that it is the same number of strakes at both ends you will be fine.

 

I do agree with what Mike was saying earlier in that often what we lay out in the beginning changes as we progress. Work a small area at a time and recheck your measurements as you go along so you can adjust the widths as needed. Smaller changes throughout the hull are easier to hide than large changes at the end. 

[Elijah]

Thank you E.J. Yours and mike's ideas make sense. I was just seeing what the approximate size of the planks would be at that spot on the ship. Once I have the French curves I want to buy, I will start planking.

[mikiek]

You're getting there.

 

I will throw out a bit of hard love though - in the stern view pic, it looks like the 3rd string(s) up are not symetrical where they meet the sternpost. At the bow the bands get pretty narrow. You may likely end up having to make some drop planks. If you don't know what those are do a little research. There's nothing wrong with that. But you might want to get ready for it.

 

I don't know what the scale of your build is, but have you calculated to determine if your proposed plank width is to scale? For instance, my build is 1:64 or approx 3/16" = 1'.  Planks for a brig at that time varied from about 6" to 12" or 3/32" to 3/16" wide in my scale. My plans called for mostly 5/32" which would have been about 10". That may be a little too wide for your type of boat.

 

Also consider whether your boat had a garboard - I would assume yes.  Those are typically wider than most other planks on your hull. They can also have a dramatic effect on how the rest of the planks lay, particularly at the bow. Installation of a garboard usually requires a rabbet be cut into the keel.

 

If you need more details on general planking for models - try this. Go to the Model Expo site. Go to web pages for several Model Shipways kits. You can download the instruction PDF's for free. Pride of Baltimore may help. Also Niagara wasn't that bad. I realize these are nothing like your boat, but a lot of the construction concepts are the same.

 

I don't want to sound like I am preaching at you - just trying to help someone who has helped me.

[mikiek]

Thank you E.J. Yours and mike's ideas make sense. I was just seeing what the approximate size of the planks would be at that spot on the ship. Once I have the French curves I want to buy, I will start planking.

 

OK - don't keep me wondering any more!     What do the french curves and planking have to do with each other?

[dgbot]

Elijah, What I have done in the past is use 1/16X1/16 strips of wood as battens to line my hulls.  They are sturdy and you can adjust them until you are happy with the result.  I would then take my measurements near the middle of the hull and decide on how mwny planks per baten.  Using a compass I would make a mark on some manila folder and shpe it to fit.  Then the next plank.  I would start out with 5per batten then three etc.  Ideally the last plank would be a perfect fit. 

David B

[John Maguire]

Elijah,

 

Looking great. I am impressed at how well your hull shape worked out. You are an absolute wizard.

 

Respectfully,

John

[Elijah]

I re lined off the hull with art tape. Does anybody know of any clear tape that can be drawn on with a pencil and is 3" wide? The stuff I used for my first plank required me to use a thick sharply, and the plank looks squiggly. Obviously, I'm not going to use that plank. The French curve helps you connect the points in a curve for the plank, and helps when cutting it out. I also had to redo my strake math. I double checked the plans and the planks are 12" at midship, or 1/8" at my scale. I am to have 15 strakes, with the garboard being a bit wider than the other planks. Also, thanks for the pointer Mike, I double checked and adjusted the stern, so it should be good now. I guess I will be held up here until I can find and buy some other tape . Anyway, here are some pictures.

Thanks for any tips and advice! Until next time!

[mikiek]

The only clear tape that wide I have seen is packing tape - but I don't know about writing on it. Some masking tape is semi-translucent - writing on it would be no problem.

[mikiek]

BTW - I am glad you're back!  I was afraid I may have hammered you to hard the other nite. That was not my intention. Just wanted to keep a bud from stepping on a bear trap.

[EJ_L]

Elijah, your adjustments look great. The spacing is much more even now. As for writing on tape, you can write on clear scotch tape with a pen. They make very fine pens, .5mm instead of the more common .7mm. They are easy to find in any office supply store just pay attention to the size on the packaging. Just be careful to not smear the ink once you have drawn on the tape.

 

Another option I have seen is just to use the edge of a piece of card stock to transfer your marks with. The card stock is flexible enough to follow the shape of the hull and since it is paper you can write on it easily. Just make your tick marks on the edge of it as you would the tape then you can slide it along your template to get your sizes. 

[robnbill]

It is looking good Elijah. What I end up doing is using the Scotch Magic tape. The standard ¾" tape works great. The magic tape is not shiny and allows you to write on it with a pencil. Using the ¾ in width allows you to stick it to the hull and it take the shape of the hull. Just use as many layers as you need overlapping them as needed. Then use a pencil to copy the marks through the tape. Then I take a clean and very sharp razor and carefully cut the edge along the previous plank. Remove it and stick it to your plank. Then use the french curve to make a nice arc between the marks. After cutting it out, bend it, then fit it to the hull. Use an emory board to fine tune the shape until it fits tightly to the pervious plank.

 

On sharp bends in the hull remember that you will need to bevel the planks to meet well. This is small and can be done with an emory board, or fine wood file. Just take your time fitting them until you are satisfied.

 

Also, remember 1 wood plank would not run the length of the hull. Butt ends together and stager where the planks butt.

Edited May 24, 2016 by robnbill

[Elijah]

Thanks for the responses guys! I think I will go with the scotch tape. One thing though, what's an Emory board? Mike, there is no offense taken, at all. Don't worry, I can take help ! Bill, the plans show one plank going the whole expanse of the hull. How long would planks be to life size? I will add butting ends if scale planks are too short. Also, how should butting ends look?

[Canute]

An Emory board is a fingernail file with sandpaper on it. Go to any pharmacy, like CVS or RiteAid in the US. Get them in coarse and fine grits.

[robnbill]

I used 35' as the rough max length of a single board on my Eagle. The actual length varies a a bit since the ends would be placed over a frame center. Since your hull is solid you have flexibility with this. Just make sure to stagger butt ends. If you do some searches on plank staggering, or planking plans, you will see a number of different planking scenarios you can choose from.

[mikiek]

You could go as short as 15'-20' .  The trick is to be consistent with whatever length you choose. As Bill said, you can get away with more on a solid hull.  If you were dealing with real frames or bulkheads, the planks would need to start and end on one. No reason why you shouldn't follow suit.

 

If you have a few planks to spare, you might lay out 6-7 strakes (strips) and then mark them with your proposed length and butt pattern. You don't even need to shape them. Then put your hull up to what you have laid out and see what you think.

 

You want to avoid too few planks per strake. I would suggest a minimum of 3-4 per strake, 4-5 would probably look even better.

 

Also avoid a pattern where planks come out too short. Your shortest plank should at least go from one bulkhead mark to the next and that would likely be only at the bow or stern.

 

Lastly, don't forget to bevel one of the long edges. Decide on the top or bottom edge  and be consistent. You should find that you get a much better strake to strake fit by doing this. Hope this crude drawing helps clarify.

 

[mikiek]

Elijah - I came across this a few weeks back. Might be worth looking into.

[Elijah]

Does this look right? It is 5 planks.

[flying_dutchman2]

It is coming along nicely. On your log there have been several suggestions I can use as well.

Marcus

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Elijah, I haven't been on MSW much lately.  Your careful and thoughtful approach to your build is very commendable!  I've found that I probably spend 80% of my time thinking and planning things out, and only the remainder actually building (or finding lost small parts in my carpeting).

 

On the planking, I couldn't find the 3" wide tape that Chuck mentions in his tutorial.  I got book tape or something similar that was wide like that, and I just couldn't get it to work.  I ended up going with the approach of just using a compass along the adjoining plank edge which I found very easy (though, I imagine the less wide scotch tape should do the trick as well):

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7267-hms-pegasus-by-landlubber-mike-amativictory-models-scale-164/?p=365802

 

 

I'm by no means an expert, but when I set up my planking bands, I tried to fit an even number of standard-width planks at the widest part of the planking band.  So, I was using 4mm planks, I would set up 20mm planking bands at the middle of the hull, and adjust them for and aft.  The middle of the hull should require little to no tapering/spiling, so it's nice to base the planking bands off that section.

 

I think from your picture above that you have temporarily taped the planks to the hull.  One thing to keep in mind is that because the planks will overlap at the joint lines, you'll need to sand the plank edges so that you have a smooth run to butt the next planking run against it.  It makes it much easier when spilling or otherwise adding rows of planking.  

 

Good luck!

[douglaspbrown]

Nice work Elijah.  

 

What is the purpose of the sheet of paper with the lines drawn at an angle? See post # 287/