Second Planking Strips

[acaron41120]

Tomorrow I intend to order the planks for my second layer of planking. I just don't know what thickness to order. In the first layer of planking the planks are 1.8 mm (thick) x 6 mm (wide) x 550 mm (long). When I ask on-line the response is always the width of the plank. I want to know how THICK the plank should be. The range seems endless. And the only hobby store is Hobby Lobby which is why I always have to order. I'm building the Mayflower by Billing Boats and just want to have the second player of planks on hand when I start the second layer of planking. I'm thinking the thickness should be about 0.5 mm thick. I thank you for your help in advance.

Edited January 15, 2021 by acaron41120

[Gregory]

.5  to .6 Is usually good.    Model Expo usually has a good selection.

 

Just stay away from what they sell as boxwood..  Unless they have changed, their " boxwood " is not...

[acaron41120]

Greg

Any idea of what Tanganica wood is and the color of it. How easy is it to work? Any one else? I've never heard of it.

[Gregory]

It is a type of walnut from Africa. Not usually as dark as American or European walnut.  

 

I would be reluctant to say it is a particular color, and you end up with something different.

It should be as easy to work as walnut or cherry..  The grain is usually finer than American or European walnut.

 

Are you planning on using shorter planks, rather than going from stem to stern, as a lot of kits suggest?

FWIW I have used these 1/32 basswood sheets from Model Expo to make my own strips which gives you more options for varying your plank width.

You can also stain it to get the color you want.

My experience has been that these sheets were very good quality.

 

 

 

 

[No Idea]

Hi Mate - the thickness of your second planking depends on how good the first layer was.  If the first layer after sanding and filling is pretty much the shape of the finished hull then 0.5mm will be enough.  You are just giving the first layer a nicer finishing coat so to speak.

 

If you still need to do a bit of sanding then 1mm is more appropriate as it gives you something to go at.  If you use too thin a wood its really easy to break through and show the first layer.  Take stock of what you have done so far and then decide what type of finish that you want.  That will give you the thickness that you need.

[barkeater]

I also go for 1 mm. It is easier to work with. Also agree Tanganiyka is good for decks but go with walnut or cherry for the hull.

[Jaager]

To stir a bit of controversy into this pot:

 

Tanganica does not show up in the Wood Database - not a good sign - a Google comes up with Anigre - This is probably a close approximation of its color.  I would proceed with the concept that Tanganica is an umbrella name for several similar species and the exact species depends on what the wood cutters dropped off on that day.  It might be more open grain than is desired.

 

African Walnut is not really a Walnut.  It has a similar range of color, so the name is for marketing, and not forestry or botany.

It is sort of a Mahogany so the pore and grain structure could be better.  Even Black Walnut, as beautiful as it is, has a troublesome open pore structure. Anything other than Juglans nigra that is called Walnut, is actually a poser.

 

Mayflower is very late 16th or early 17th century.  It is a merchantman.  Any scantlings are difficult to find.  Any models are based on plans that are pure conjecture.  The properties of wood are the same over the entire  time of wooden hull vessels.  The goal would be to use planking that is thick enough to sustain the size hull of the vessel but no thicker.  With this in mind, using tables of scantlings from a much later time and looking up the acceptable planking thickness vs vessel size would a yield a realistic result as far as minimum plank thickness.  If the vessel did not sink soon after launch, it sort of had to be close.  Even with official planking dimensions there were two very different planking thickness ranges.  If a Softwood was used (~Pine) it would be an inch or two thicker than if a Hardwood (~Oak) was used.  This is a complete PITA for us.

 

If there were real plans and they were inside the planking, 

If two layer POB was in play,

The sum of the thicknesses of the two layers should be equal to the actual planking thickness.

If the POB moulds are scratch lofted, the planking thickness can be subtracted at the beginning and any thickness can be used.

With Mayflower, the actual hull size is a guess anyway, so most any thickness of veneer should do.  But just not so thick as to eatup too much of the depth of the keel. 

 

One option for you would be to pay a visit to a local WoodCraft store and examine their available veneer.  You might could break lucky and find a local Pa&Paw woodworkers store with a wide selection of veneers, but in the world that MBA's have left us (i.e short term profit is the whole of it) I doubt it is likely. 

 

Because of scale considerations, most species used for veneer are a poor choice.  Generally woodworkers want "interesting looking" veneer.  We want the exact opposite.  Open or closed pore does not matter to them.  It does matter to us.   This limits the number of appropriate veneer species.  Southeast US, the likely choices that meet our needs are Beech, Birch, Hard Maple, Black Cherry, Holly.  Checking the WoodCraft company locations, it seems that Hat Lanta is where your nearest store is.  The advantages of this are, seeing what is available before purchase, relatively low cost, easy to get more.  A wide sheet is fine.  The planks are easily and economically spilled.  A quality steel ruler, an exquisitely  sharp knife (violin makers knife) will free the planks from the sheet. Power tools are not needed. 

 

I viewed something here recently that near horrified me.  There are POB kits that have the wale(s) mounted as an extra layer of the same planking as the second layer.  This for vessels of a time when wales stood proud above the planking.  The wale(s) should be their own complete unit. They should be thicker ( twice or more) and go directly on the base layer. They should go on first.  The second outside plank strake should be the garboard.  The garboard needs to be pretty much spilled from a piece of wood that is twice the width of the widest regular planking - to get it to lay properly.  This defines the space where the rest of the planking lays.  It makes it possible to get the proper runs of strakes.

 

[mtaylor]

I think the name is mis-spelled and should be: tanganika. Quite a few places sell it.  But it seems to be a "generic" name.

 

  https://sites.google.com/site/shipwrightsfaq/smf-researchnotes/smf-RN-Tanganyika

[Jaager]

Mark,

I should have done a parallel using the correct spelling.  But that name brings this to mind:

Wiki:

Tanganyika, historical eastern African state that in 1964 merged with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, later renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.

 

Most any wood that is named for a country is unlikely to be a single species-seems to me.

 

Never the less, it is probably a species to be avoided if there is any other choice.  The same goes for African Walnut.

The properties of wood appropriate for wooden ship models is probably totally absent from the factors that determine which wood to use, when mass market kit manufacturers select their kit wood. 

[mtaylor]

I've had that wood in a couple of kits (the only two I did).  Tossed it as I recall and used in the fireplace as starter.

[allanyed]

Walnut and Cherry are mentioned above.  Walnut is porous and looks unrealistic in texture and color for the most part.  I know most kits use it but probably because it is inexpensive.    Cherry is not so porous  and works well, but you may not like the color which does vary somewhat even within the same board.   If you do want the reddish tinge, Swiss pear is a good choice.   Check out the forum here on wood and you will get a lot of great information based on others' experiences with various species.   

Allan

[acaron41120]

Thanks for all the excellent responses. I ended up ordering 1x5x500mm walnut strips (pack of 25) from Model Expo.

Edited February 2, 2021 by acaron41120

[Edwardkenway]

It may be a bit late but Cornwall model boats do cherry and pear strips at 5mm x 0.5mm