Faring the Frames

[acaron41120]

Just wanted to post this for anyone new to the model ship building hobby. I'm Building my Mayflower by Billing Boats and I spent 2 hours yesterday faring frames on the port side of the hull. I still have a little more work to do at the stern before I start faring the starboard side. For those just starting ship model building this step may seem boring and although a lengthy process, it is very necessary. Remember it is always better to sand a little at a time and check the faring a ton as you go. This step will give you a great fit of your hull planks without ridges and valleys. More to come soon with photos in my build log.

[Jaager]

Allen,

Your kit is POB.  What you are faring are generally termed bulkheads. I believe the first POB kits were Italian.  Whoever did the first naming and translation of the first kits was obviously not at all academically inclined.  The evidence for this is the use of the term bulkhead to begin with. (Unless the first kit was a submarine.)  Since only Chinese wooden ships had actual bulkheads, what they actually are; moulds.  To rif a bit about POB: Some sort of outboard support between the moulds will make them less prone to movement or displacement while being abraded.  The mass market POB kits tend to have an inadequate number of moulds.  This makes for problems with dips and hollows in the first layer of planking.  But enough about the problems with moulds.

 

The point I wish to make is that moulds/bulkheads are not frames.  Their only resemblance to frames is that they reside where a few of the actual frames of the ship would be.

Misuse of terminology can lead to confusion. Should you progress on into scratch POF hull fabrication, you would understand why moulds should never be confused with actual frames.

[acaron41120]

Jaager. Thanks for your information. Perhaps the best way to say it is just call it faring. In any event my intent was to let those even more novice than I to not be discouraged if "faring" takes more effort than they anticipated.

Edited November 8, 2020 by acaron41120

[turangi]

Excellent advice Allen!

Edited November 8, 2020 by turangi

[Bossman]

2 hours ago, acaron41120 said:

Jaager. Thanks for your information. Perhaps the best way to say it is just call it faring. In any event my intent was to let those even more novice than I to not be discouraged if "faring" takes more effort than they anticipated.

Allen, you are so right! 99% of my planking problems go right back to poor fairing. 

[Jaeon]

On 11/8/2020 at 9:08 AM, acaron41120 said:

Just wanted to post this for anyone new to the model ship building hobby. I'm Building my Mayflower by Billing Boats and I spent 2 hours yesterday faring frames on the port side of the hull. I still have a little more work to do at the stern before I start faring the starboard side. For those just starting ship model building this step may seem boring and although a lengthy process, it is very necessary. Remember it is always better to sand a little at a time and check the faring a ton as you go. This step will give you a great fit of your hull planks without ridges and valleys. More to come soon with photos in my build log.

I will be faring my hull soon. I have never done one before. What did you use to sand with? Sandpaper? Files? Sanding sticks? Thanks for any info

[allanyed]

To answer your question about fairing Jaeon, based on my own experience, yes to each item you mentioned but files are not really necessary.  I am sure there are many other methods that members here use that work well.   You can also add a sanding mouse to the mix.   Are you building POF or POB?   For POF, the frame drawings should show the amount of bevel along each frame so can fair these CLOSE to the line before installing, then do the  final fairing with sanding sticks.   If plywood POB, these usually go quickly as the wood is soft so care needs to be taken not to go too fast and over sand.   Constantly check the fairing with a piece of plank to be sure there are no dips or bumps.  

 

If the assembly is really rough cut and needs a lot of sanding to get the frames faired, a rotary sanding wheel is useful for the initial heavy work.  Just don't over do it and know that some finer hand work is best used at the end of the task.  If you do use these, safety glasses really should be used!!   Photo of what I mean follows:

Edited April 13, 2021 by allanyed

[acaron41120]

Hi Jaeon. When faring the frames on my Mayflower I used a sanding block I purchased from Lowes. Its a small yellow rubber piece that has different grit sandpaper that velcro to it. And I sanded the frames diagonally and along the length of the hull checking each frame as I went. Just easier for me that way. I do have a dremel tool with sanding bits but have not used it much. Probably because I'm old fashioned and like using my hands. Just remember to take it slowly and check a lot and you should find that you're have with the results.