Thin hull planking

[Gerarddm]

Due to display space limitations, my proposed build of the Davis Lexington will have to be in 1:72 scale. As I have been calculating timber sizes etc., I suddenly realized last night that the real ship would have had hull planking of around 3" thickness. In 1:72 scale, that is barely over 1MM. Being a newbie, my first reaction was, good grief! How do I get wood that thin? And what species of  wood can be worked that thin?

 

Then I recalled that people like McNarry and others have built amazingly detailed models at 1:100 or less, so my question is, how does one get wood so thin that the scaled planking would be accurate? 

[mtaylor]

A couple of ways....

Order 1mm thick sheets and cut for the width of the plank.

 

Or.....

 

Cut it with a small table saw as close as you can.  Then run the cut pieces through a thickness sander.  If not thickness sander... hand sand very carefully.

[Dziadeczek]

I can cut hardwood on my PREAC saw as thin as a sheet of paper!

[Bob Cleek]

Generally, smaller scale models are built with solid hulls, rather than planked. "Miniatures" can be built on frames, but that requires a very high level of skill few of us have. Those techniques are addressed in the books on the subject of miniature ship models. A couple of good ones are Donald McNarry's Shipbuilding in Miniature (https://www.amazon.com/Shipbuilding-Miniature-Donald-McNarry/dp/0668058005) and Lloyd McCaffery's Ships in Miniature (https://www.amazon.com/Ships-Miniature-New-Manual-Modelmakers/dp/0961502134) The problem isn't getting wood that thin. (Boxwood is frequently used.) It's having the skill to work at those scales!

 

• 

   

  A millimeter is about 4/100ths of an inch. Stripwood that thin can be done with the right material and the right equipment (can you say "Byrnes saw?"), but don't expect to buy it off the shelf easily. You'll likely have to mill it yourself. Some plane off shavings, soak them and lay them out under glass to dry flat and work with that. As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations."  

[amateur]

Or for that matter the books of Philip Reed are very instructive. (clear text, and very detailed photo's)

Reed uses wood shavings mounted on thin paper. These can be cutted with a knife to the desired width. These planks in turn are used to plank the (solid) hull.

 

Jan

[CPDDET]

I believe wood veneer as thin as .6 mm is available.

[Justin P.]

13 minutes ago, CPDDET said:

I believe wood veneer as thin as .6 mm is available.

My thoughts exactly...

 

[dvm27]

Some of the Russian ship model "Masters" use boxwood and ebony veneer for their 1:48 models. But they use ply interior construction so have a very broad surface for plank adhesion.

[barkeater]

As noted above, pre-cut wood strips 1mm or even .5 mm thick are available from multiple sources. Also ripping planks on a mini table saw to 1mm or less is not a problem with several types of wood including but not limited to walnut which is commonly used in planking.  Good luck in your build. If you decide to rip planks from wood sheets make sure that the pieces you get have a uniform thickness. I have seen variation in thickness which can be a problem if you don't notice it and allow for the variation.

[allanyed]

The type of wood can make all the difference.  Walnut is not a good choice as it is so grainy and thin pieces tend to crack and split with ease.   Take a look at the "Wood Discussion" section here at MSW and you will get an idea of what woods are being commonly used with success.   Some are reasonably price, some are dear.    As to thickness variations if you are ripping your own, Barkeater has a great point.  A thickness sander is a great way to get even thickness but that is an investment that you may not want to make at this point.  Even if they are varying in thickness, once in place on the hull, you will be sanding anyway and this should take out any variations in thickness.  

Allan

 

[TBlack]

1mm = .47 inches; 1/32" = .45 inches. If you're not too fussy, you can buy 1/32" stock pre-cut. Cherry is a good choice for a darker hull, or Chuck P. sells 1/32" Alaskan Yellow Cedar for a lighter hull.

Tom

[davyboy]

7 minutes ago, TBlack said:

1mm = .47 inches; 1/32" = .45 inches. If you're not too fussy, you can buy 1/32" stock pre-cut. Cherry is a good choice for a darker hull, or Chuck P. sells 1/32" Alaskan Yellow Cedar for a lighter hull.

Tom

Ahem !!!!!! 1mm is 0.0394".  1/32" is 0.0312". 

 

Dave 

[barkeater]

3 hours ago, allanyed said:

Barkeater has a great point.  A thickness sander is a great way to get even thickness but that is an investment that you may not want to make at this point.  Even if they are varying in thickness, once in place on the hull, you will be sanding anyway and this should take out any variations in thickness.  

Thanks very much for the kind comment but I have to clarify that the variation in thickness I was referring to was meant for the sheets as the thickness of your sheet becomes the width of your plank after ripping. I acquired some ebony sheets a few years ago and ripped them to do the wale on my current build Unity. I put in three planking rows before I realized that the sheets varied in thickness from about 3.6mm to 2.5 mm. It was an "Oh crap" moment for me. The thickness of the sheet becomes the width of the plank so in spots I was now up to 3 mm off and nothing was uniform. It took a lot of extra work to even everything up as the wale was only 7 rows wide. Since then I have gotten some red heart from a different supplier which had variation but less severe. I realized this before hand and was actually able to use it to my advantage. It is just something you have to be aware of.

Edited January 6, 2020 by barkeater
better wording

[TBlack]

7 hours ago, davyboy said:

Ahem !!!!!! 1mm is 0.0394".  1/32" is 0.0312". 

 

Dave 

Oh! THAT'S why my models all skew to the port. Thanks ever so! Still, my point was that .008" may not be noticed and buying pre-cut 1/32" is a lot easier that buying a thickness sander.

Tom

[Gerarddm]

Thanks for all the enlightening answers, very helpful.

[Chuck Seiler]

Who cares how thick it is if you can't see it?

 

Having said that, before you dismiss me as a heathen 🤪🙉... Are you a master? Probably not.  Do you have excellent planking skills?  If so and your planking is perfect, then maybe you won't have  problem, but when I plank...no matter how diligent I try to be, I get irregularities.  Some planks and some strakes stand slightly prouder than others.  If you start off with really thin wood then you might end up sanding a hole in your hull.  I like using planks with  a little extra meat so you can sand them down to a smooth surface.  I really don't like getting much thinner than 3/64ths.

 

If some of your planks are scale 4 or 5 inches thick, but you have a good smooth surface, does it really matter?

[wefalck]

I would not go for 'veneer' in such small scale. Veneers are usuall cut tangentially from tree trunk using something like a long knife. This 'peeling' process results in a very open grain and partly destroys the structure of the wood. If it has to be wood, then it should be cut from the solid.

 

Does it really need to be wood ? If it is a full hull model and to be painted, it doesn't really matter too much what is underneath, if you are interested only in the result, rather than showing off your craftmanship.

 

The 1:72 scale is not all too small, have a look at Ed Tosti's YOUNG AMERICA build-log in the same scale.