Flying Fish Build/ Plank bending

[Retiredsailor1973]

After searching the internet for somebody to give me help on building the Flying Fish,I've come to the conclusion that there is nobody out there!  Boy was I ever wrong

 you can find anything on the web, including pics of the same model I'm building on you-tube. only he has built this model exactly to scale.  and i do mean to scale 

 it's great if you have the time and the knowledge to accomplish this,I'm no master shipwright and according to the pics I saw he has got to be.  Anyway  i was thinking 

 how I would bend the planks to fit the hull and after seeing the price of some of the kits I said no way! So being kind of an inventor and wood worker I hit upon a novel 

 idea, all it takes is a piece of 40 sch PVC one 1-1/2 cap and lots of hot water/ hence the PVC will keep the water hot for about 40 min, just cut the PVC to fit your planks and fill with boiling water

 and cover with damp cloth/ hence the wood is soaked and easy to bend, comments welcome    B.Regan

[ccoyle]

PVC pipe and water is the method I have used for 20 years now. 😉 But I don't use hot water -- cold water and a plank bending tool works for me.

[Thistle17]

I am sure you know but just for the sake of it  wood swells across its width i.e. perpendicular to its fiber cells. So don't glue them in until you are sure they are completely dry if you go this route. Look on this site for alternate measures for planking. I think you may find these methods preferable.

Joe

[Retiredsailor1973]

Hi Joe:  Thanks for the info, now as to gluing i do wait for it to dry completely and here comes the good part, because I work with wood in my shop I use a method that will

 allow me to not only glue the planks together but give them a coating of wood glue all over. Tite-bond wood glue, industrial found this on amazon it's expensive but well worth the money

I just pour an amount in bowl and dilute just enough to use a paint brush, this not only soaks the plank but gives it a water tight seal. Then while glue is sorta drying I double the planks on hull

real thin strips I also found on the internet, this process takes three days to complete and completely dry in five days bottom line real tight looking planking on model

no need to stain, but I like the natural color of the wood so just a little varnish and it's done. Only on this model I'll use the painting method to really give it an authentic look>

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   B. Regan