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Holding Deck Planks Down After PVA Gluing


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I'm planning on using PVA glue to install the deck planks over the false deck; just want the extra time to lay them in tight.  With the slight curved bow in the false deck, from stem to stern, with the low point at midships, the question is how to hold the deck planks tight to the false deck while the glue sets?  I used push pins to hold the edge of the margin planks down tight when they went in.  For the king plank I need 7 x pins to hold it down.  If I use push pins for every deck plank, the false deck becomes Swiss cheese, But who really cares; it's covered by the deck planks.  Just wondering if there is another technique out there.  Don't really what to bend the deck planks either.

 

Thanks...John

.John

 

Current Build: Lady Nelson

Next up: Speedy (Vanguard Models)

 

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Hi John,

 

If the sheer is normal and the rounding normal, you should be able to hold the section of plank down with your finger for a minute, or less, and it will hold.  I assume you glued the false deck in place first.   Both white and yellow (carpenter's or wood glue) are PVAs.   The yellow polyvinyl acetate has a higher instant tack and does not like to be moved once the pieces are joined, a plus for us,  I think.   Don't know what scale you are working with, but keep in mind that the planks should be no more than 25 feet to 30 feet long so about 3 3/4" at 1:98 and 7 1/2" at 1/48.   You can always add a few weight pieces, but be sure there is something between the weights and the wood.   I got a half dozen chunks of steel of various sizes from a scrap bin at a local machine shop years ago that gave them to me for free as they were going into the scrap bin anyway.    

Allan

 

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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Another approach I was quite happy with was the use of DAP Insta Cure. There are two versions a general purpose one (good also for wood) and one used for wood. What I liked about the CA like glue was that one could lift the plank within 30 seconds if the result was not perfect and it could  be repositioned again. I also found that it could be removed and relaid once again should a new one be required with just minimal "clearing" of the previous layer of glue on the false deck.

Joe

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Thistle,  how do you dissolve the glue once cured, acetone?    In reading up on this, it seems there is need for an accelerator and the cure time is two hours.  Is this your experience?

Thank you!

Allan

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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I have used thin CA or gap filling CA and had a firm hold after a few moments of holding. 

Some, who are not fans of CA, will use PVA but put a couple of spots of CA to get the plank started.  Downside is if you want to remove it you end up needing acetone and alcohol to dissolve the glue.

So, for me, if the area is easy to clamp, or not under stress, I use PVA.  Otherwise, like hull planking, I will use thinned CA. Thinned CA is also useful for prepositioning then allowing Thinned CA to "seep" in.  The "seep" in method is becoming a favorite practice.  

We will just have to see if problems develop with CA over the years.

Richard

 

Richard
Member: The Nautical Research Guild
                Atlanta Model Shipwrights

Current build: Syren

                       

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Richard, you are absolutely correct about seeing if CA holds up.  Would be a scary thing to hear cracking and creaking of a model coming "unglued" one night and you wake up to see a pile of wood pieces 😀

 

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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Thanks for the tips guys.  I guess I wasn't very specific when posting this (I'll learn, I promise).  My scale is 1/64, 1800 British cutter, and I'm planning on using one full length kit plank per strake and simulate the butts (I've already laid out a 5-butt pattern) with one of the numerous techniques posted on MSW (not sure which one will work for me; this is my first ship model)!  So with the sheer of the deck, the issue is how to hold the plank tight to the false deck while the PVA sets.  The best I can come up with is push pins and like I said, I need 7 pins to hold it tight.  I will try to see if I can find heavy things to hold it down.

 

Thanks...John

.John

 

Current Build: Lady Nelson

Next up: Speedy (Vanguard Models)

 

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