Nailing Deck and Hull Planking

[shortgrass]

Am having some difficulty nailing deck planking on my model.  The deck and the top of the model do not exactly line up, so I am going to have to nail the deck down until the glue dries.  Has anyone had any success with the "nail pushers ?"  Appreciate any input and help.  Thanks.

[mtaylor]

Will the nails be left in the deck?  If not, you'll have to fill the holes so think maybe treenails of wood.  As for a nail pusher, may not be a good idea due to the amount of force needed.

[Jaager]

Pin pusher = a tool that looks like a good idea, but really does not work a expected.

For the below, a small hammer and or a curved Kelly clamp (forceps/hemostat)

Use a pin vise or rotary drill to make a hole for the pin that is smaller than the pin diameter.

A hitch chock can be used to apply more force. 

Hitch chock = a small piece of scrap wood with a hole thru it sited  just below the head of the pin to apply force to the plank surface.

If you do not thru drill the pilot hole, the pin can be bent over the chock.

You are left with filling the hole.  Bamboo skewers - a single edge razor blade - a drill gauge for a draw plate or

a real draw plate.  Really tedious - the character of the bamboo species makes a difference in yield and how long it takes.

The chock can be split off and the pin nipped and filed - if it is brass or copper wire.  Fe pins will rust and disintegrate.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Jaager

[barkeater]

I'm not a fan of pin pushers or nailing unless it is the first planking of a double planked model. I clamp instead. Sometimes you have to get inventive depending on what you are doing. It helps to have a variety of clamps. You can clamp a piece of scrap wood to apply pressure. I also use have used multiple clamps with scrap wood or the butt ends of microfiles to jerry-rig clamping when a single clamp does not work. Nails can split the wood especially if you have to use a lot of torque to get the piece to lie flat. You also are left with a hole to deal with. If you treenail you can fill but you have to only nail where your treenail pattern would be (for me 2 holes at the butt and 1 hole about every four feet to scale). Alternatively you can use wood glue. Let it sit until it starts to thicken then place on your plank and use your fingers to clamp. Usually a count to 100  will do the trick. For tough angles such as the front or rear quarter of the hull where it is angling in you may have to hold for a count of 300 but the glue will take. I do not use ca as it stains and I do not paint my hulls.

[Dr PR]

I built a plank-on-frame model about half a century ago using small metal nails that were supplied with the kit. I just looked at it again and the nails are still there and have not rusted. I pushed the nails in so the heads were below the plank surface and then filled in over the nail with something (probably a mixture of wood dust and glue) and sanded it smooth. However, the nail locations are visible if the light angle is right.

 

I used a pin pusher of some sort, and it took a bit of practice. You have to concentrate and use a steady push perpendicular to the plank surface. If you do not push very close to perpendicular the nail will bend over and make a nasty dent in the plank. But I remember it wasn't hard after I learned how. The hull planks were thin and the plywood frames offered little resistance. You do run the risk of missing the frames or splitting them - the nail won't hold in either case.

 

I am pretty sure I did not drill the holes for the nail before pushing them in.

 

I probably pushed the nail in as far as I could - with the heads "proud" above the planks - and then hammered them with a punch to get them below the plank surface.

 

****

 

I agree with the others that just gluing and clamping the planks is better than messing with the nails.

[allanyed]

Shortgrass,

 

I feel your pain.   Clamps are a good way to go but there will be a point where there is no where to get a clamp in place.  I have 7 our 8 scrap pieces of steel blocks that I use to hold things down when necessary.  Put a piece of scrap wood between the steel and the part to be weighed down to avoid  putting dents in the wood.   I picked these up from a small machine shop that had a barrel of scrap and they were happy to give them to me for free.  

Allan

[Emmet]

On 8/24/2019 at 2:27 AM, Dr PR said:

I built a plank-on-frame model about half a century ago using small metal nails that were supplied with the kit. I just looked at it again and the nails are still there and have not rusted. I pushed the nails in so the heads were below the plank surface and then filled in over the nail with something (probably a mixture of wood dust and glue) and sanded it smooth. However, the nail locations are visible if the light angle is right.

 

I used a pin pusher of some sort, and it took a bit of practice. You have to concentrate and use a steady push perpendicular to the plank surface. If you do not push very close to perpendicular the nail will bend over and make a nasty dent in the plank. But I remember it wasn't hard after I learned how. The hull planks were thin and the plywood frames offered little resistance. You do run the risk of missing the frames or splitting them - the nail won't hold in either case.

 

I am pretty sure I did not drill the holes for the nail before pushing them in.

 

I probably pushed the nail in as far as I could - with the heads "proud" above the planks - and then hammered them with a punch to get them below the plank surface.

 

****

 

I agree with the others that just gluing and clamping the planks is better than messing with the nails.

Can you tell me where to get the pin pusher and the pins for it.