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So, I've made the decision to spile all the planks for my upcoming build, as I love the look and fit of spiled planks.  I'll basically be cutting each plank from a piece of sheetwood, by hand.  While I will be using masking tape to trace the curve of the last plank in order to trace out my spiled plank, I'm still going to need a way to smoothly connect the dots that mark the widths of the proposed plank at each bulkhead on the other side, to complete the outline of the plank.  Many people use's a set of ship's curves for this purpose, but I've been looking at the ACU-ARC adjustable curve ruler as an alternative.  It looks like this:

 

acu-arc-adjustable-curves-use-as-ship-cu    

 

Basically, it consists of a number of flexible plastic strips bunched together.  You can flex the ruler to meet the points you've marked and it will hold its shape due to the friction between the strips.  You then simply trace along the flat edge to make your line.  I'm wondering if this might be a better choice, since it will provide a nice smooth curve from start to finish, rather than using the traditional method of finding the best fit for a portion of the points with a ship's curve and repeating the process until the line is complete.  What do you guys think?  

 

Also, one of the things I'm worried about is not currently owning a scroll saw...  As it is, my only option seems to be cutting the rough shape of each plank out of the thin sheetwood using an X-Acto blade, then filing/sanding to the final shape.  How easy do you think this will be with basswood and walnut sheetwood ranging from 1/32" to 1/16" thick?  If I do decide to purchase a scroll saw, what type of blade should I get to smoothly cut sheetwood in this thickness range?  I'm assuming I'd be looking for one with a high number of teeth-per-inch.  Do you guys have any suggestions for the proper TPI range?  

 

My last question refers to the method of laying the tape in order to trace the correct curve of the last plank.  I've read some descriptions of this process (and seen a few pictures), but I want to make sure I have this right.  The correct method, as I understand it, is to lay the tape so that the portion of the tape that is laying on the existing plank is smooth, with no wrinkles or bends.  The other edge of the tape (i.e., the portion that's hanging over the edge of the existing plank) can be a little wrinkled without affecting the accuracy of the curve you're tracing.  Is that right?  I've tested this method on the rim of a glass that is wider at the mouth than at the base, and I ended up with a nice curved strip that wrapped around the glass and was perfectly parallel to the rim of the glass, so it seems to be a good way of doing it.  What do you guys think?

 

As always, thanks for your advice, opinions, and assistance! 

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” - Otto von Bismarck

 

Current Build:  Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson

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I recently used spiling for the planking on my Pegasus.  To answer your questions:

 

1.  I don't see why that ruler can't work.  I bought a set of ship curves and used two of them.  In most cases, I was able to use a ships curve for the full plank.

 

2.  I didn't use a scroll saw.  I used strips 50% or so wider than the standard plank length, and used X-actos, chisels and sandpaper to cut and finish the planks.  Those planks are pretty thin, and shouldn't be much of a problem.  I'm not an expert on my scroll saw, but I wonder if the saw is too much power on such thin pieces of wood?  Walnut is prone to splinter in my limited experience, so I'd worry that the scroll saw might cause more problems than its worth.

 

3.  I can't help you on the tape method.  I tried it and it didn't really work for me (probably because of the tape I used).  I went with the compass method, where you trace the line against the edge of the plank above.  It worked pretty easily for me, and you didn't need to worry about tape and transferring lines.

 

Good luck!

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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Used one of those when hand drafting and needed to show a transition spiral along a Hwy C/L or ROW, worked fine with pencil or ink, it's around here someplace. Also have a Staedtler 951  60-24 which I liked better. The 951 was heavier, could lead it around smaller curves and was heavy enough to stay where you wanted it. Don't know if they are still available.

Just looked, they are.

Staedtler® Mars® Flexible Curve, 24", Light Blue, less than 10 dollars.

jud

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All good points, Mike!  I'm still on the fence about the ruler...  It seems like a good idea, but I like the fact that the ship's curves never change their shape.  I worry that the flexible ruler might get a subtle wave in it somewhere along the curve and cause problems with the fit.  I, too, was worried about the scroll saw being a little too much for thin wood like that.  I had already made up my mind to take a shot at cutting the planks out using an X-Acto before deciding if I wanted to spend the money on a scroll saw.  I didn't think it would be too bad, given how thin the wood will be.  I'm also sure that my wife would be happier if I didn't walk through the door with a power tool that we'd have to find a place to store!  I have a good compass, and I had given some thought to using the method that you suggested, so maybe I'll give that a shot.  Did you just bend the wider plank around the hull and trace the curve of the previous plank onto the wide one?  Most of the time I see people using a piece of card stock to trace the curve onto (which, again, would have to be laid across the planks properly, I'm assuming).  

 

Jud, I took a look at the flexible ruler you mentioned when I was at a craft store a few days ago.  I think those are the kind that have a metal core and a flexible material on the outside.  I didn't purchase it because, since they require you to "shape" the curve yourself, they might be prone to developing tiny bends somewhere along the length that might create a less than perfect curve...  I'm still not sure how big of a concern that is.  I read a review somewhere that stated that the ACU-ARC is less likely to do this, based on its different construction.

Edited by daveward

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” - Otto von Bismarck

 

Current Build:  Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson

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I picked up one of these adjustable curves to try and it looks promising. The kit I am building now has the spiled planks drawn on the plans so I don't need it for this project but having them drawn and cutting and fitting them has been a very educational process. I may us the tape and curve method on the last belt just to try it. In Chuck Passaro's planking tutorial he uses clear tape. I sent him a PM to ask what type of tape he uses and he said he just uses packing tape from the Post Office and a fine point sharpie to mark the line, bulkhead locations and plank width at each point. It sounds like a pretty straight forward way to go and Chuck sure gets great results.

The heart is happiest when the head and the hands work together.

Al

 

Current Builds:

HMS Halifax 1/48 POF Lumberyard Kit

Model Shipways Glad Tidings

Acoustic Guitar Build FINISHED

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Did you just bend the wider plank around the hull and trace the curve of the previous plank onto the wide one?  Most of the time I see people using a piece of card stock to trace the curve onto (which, again, would have to be laid across the planks properly, I'm assuming).  

 

 

That's what I did - placed the plank on the ship, then traced the line directly to the plank.  You can use tape or card stock, but then you have to transfer the template separately to the plank.  The method I used avoided that step, and was surprisingly accurate.

 

At first I cut just outside the lines to give myself extra material to work with and sand back, but over time, it was better to just cut on the line.  There is always a little sanding you have to do, but I found that if you get the line marked correctly, you should be good to go.  Sometimes it was a little tricky holding the plank down to the bend in the hull while tracing the spile line, which is probably why using card or tape can be easier in those situations.

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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Haha, alde, I sent the same message to Chuck!  I'm sure he gets that a lot...  I think I might try using masking tape, as I have some that is 3" wide, and it's low-tack.  My only problem is that it's not clear, so I won't be able to mark the bulkhead locations very easily.  I feel like I'd get more accurate results by actually rubbing the pencil lead against the edge of the plank to trace the curve, as opposed to tracing the curve by eye using a sharpie.  In Chuck's guide, he mentions a 3" wide Scotch tape that you can write on in pencil, but I can't seem to find anything like that anywhere...  As far as I know, Scotch only makes their "Magic" tape in the thin widths commonly used in offices.  If I find that I can't make the bulkhead marks, I'll probably switch over to some wide packing tape that I can see through.

 

Mike, holding the plank down along the curve while tracing was my big concern...  I'm just not sure that I could do it well enough, and I had a feeling that bending a full-width, untapered plank around the bulkheads for tracing would be a little awkward for me.  My kit arrives tomorrow, so I'm still in the planning stages.  Everything so far is just theoretical.  I'll have a much better idea of what will and won't work when I get the center keel and bulkheads assembled and faired!

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” - Otto von Bismarck

 

Current Build:  Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson

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Dave, the widest Scotch tape I could find was 3/4" wide. The problem I see with the masking tape is transferring the plank width from the tick marks to the tape. I guess they can just be measured with a divider after the tape is off the bulkheads and transferred. That would be easy enough but add an extra step. If you could trace the line of the previous plank, mark the bulkhead locations and transfer the tick mark while the tape is on the hull you will have a complete pattern for the plank on one step.

The heart is happiest when the head and the hands work together.

Al

 

Current Builds:

HMS Halifax 1/48 POF Lumberyard Kit

Model Shipways Glad Tidings

Acoustic Guitar Build FINISHED

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I did a bit of spiling on my planking and wales at the bow. I have become very comfortable with the tape method and used a pencil to mark the tape - a sharpie made a mess when I used it. The tape was Scotch (3M) Matte Finish - about 3/4 inch. I have the Staedtler 971 but hardly use it. While I used my mini-band saw for cutting some of the planks it would not have been hard to use a blade. The nice thing about the tape method is that you can put the tape right onto the plank you're going to cut and sand. No matter what method you use to transcribe the curve to the board, there will always be fine tuning to fit the shape to the adjoining surfaces.

Ian

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Try using a strip of file folder paper instead of a plank to mark on.  It's stiff enough not to wobble too much between bulkheads yet can be cut with X-acto™ or scissors.  Cut it a fair amount bigger but narrow enough to bend around the hull.  Practice will show you the sweet spot.  Then use compass points to trace against the previous plank and mark on the folder paper.  When you cut to the mark and check and re-mark a couple of times it should be good to mark the plank.  Tape would work to hold the paper in place while you do the compass thing.

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Thanks for the tips, guys!  I will probably try out a number of different techniques before I settle on the one that's right for me.  Spiling each plank for my first build is probably a lofty goal, but I've always been the type of person who loves a challenge.  I think I can accomplish it if I take my time and work slowly and patiently.  Based on the way I want to do my planking, I imagine I'll be working at a pace of 1-2 planks per night.  My plan is to take my measurements, cut out the spiled plank, trim it, and do a test fitting before putting a small bevel on the top edge so that everything fits perfectly, making fine adjustments and rechecking as necessary.  Next, I'll soak the plank, bend it around the bulkheads, and clamp it in place.  I'll let it dry and take shape, then come back and do a final fitting check before gluing it in place with Titebond III.  It will take me a long time to get finished, but I'm confident that this method will provide the most aesthetically pleasing results.  I'll be starting a build log here on the forum, so feel free to follow along!  Thanks again, and good luck with your builds!  

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” - Otto von Bismarck

 

Current Build:  Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson

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Frankly, it's not a difficult process, just a time consuming one.  Once you get the first couple done, it will be very intuitive and fairly easy.  It gives much better results in my opinion than tapering planks - tapering planks still can be prone to clink because the curves of the hull are in three dimensions.  I didn't appreciate how much the hull curves until I started spiling planks on my Pegasus.

 

The one issue I found with the tapering method is what do you do when you have to start adding drop planks.  In some situations, the drop plank is wider than the standard kit plank width.  So, you either have to work with two planks glued together, or buy extra material.  

 

So what kit will you be working on?

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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Mike, you raise some good points!  When you get right down to it, spiling is definitely the best way to go.  While you end up purchasing extra wood, the freedom it provides you with regard to crafting your own planks to the exact dimensions you need in any situation is invaluable.  :)

 

For my first project, I'll be building the Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson.  I think it will provide an excellent starting point for me in this hobby.  It's got a double-planked POB hull, a few guns, and some nice rigging, with some interesting deck furniture.  Since this will be my first build, I wanted to get as much information as possible on this specific model before I began working on it.  I've checked out the build logs for this kit, as well as a variety of planking/spiling guides.  I also purchased the tutorial DVDs for this model from Lauck Street Shipyard.  While they were expensive, I thought they would give me a good idea of how to approach this particular model, while helping me to build skills that I can apply to future projects.  The DVDs have been interesting -- I've picked up a number of tips/tricks that will help me throughout the process.  However, the majority of the techniques used in the videos are done by eye, or based on "experience," and I've always preferred to use exact, repeatable methods using measurements and planning (I am a scientist, after all).  Regardless, the DVDs have been helpful in that they have either given me techniques to use for my build, or allowed me to see what I would do differently than the way it was done in the videos.  So, with the research I've done thus far, as well as the opportunity to draw on the wealth of knowledge brought to the table by the many experienced builders on this forum, I feel that I am well-prepared for the project!    

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others” - Otto von Bismarck

 

Current Build:  Amati/Victory Models Lady Nelson

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FWIW:

You will of course, when choosing plank widths, measure the kit-supplied plank, and make that width your 'standard' width for your lining off.

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