Jiggling or Nibbling

[CLovehitch]

Hello People,

I have looking for years how to Jiggle planks at the bow.

Anyone have directions or suggestions?

 

[Keith Black]

 Nick, did you watch the Tally Ho YouTube videos I posted yesterday? 

[Dr PR]

Deck planks or hull planks?

[Keith Black]

He says deck planks here.

 

 

[allanyed]

CH

Did you follow up on the responses to this same question that you posted two days ago or do any research of this topic here at MSW?  If you use the search box for joggling you will get 9 pages of posts on the subject.   

Allan

 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by allanyed

[Dr PR]

CH,

 

The basic technique for "nibbing" deck planks into the edge planks is pretty simple. The purpose is to avoid points on the planks at less than 45 degree angle - these were weak and prone to catching on lines and such and breaking off.

 

Basically, the plank is trimmed to about half the plank width at the nib on the outboard side, and then angled back to where the plank encounters the edge board at the outboard side. Now we are at the point where many people have ideas about "how it should be done."

 

On modern ships the nib seems to be half the plank width. On some older wooden vessels it may have been 1/3 the plank width. And the nib end may be perpendicular to the plank edge, or perpendicular to the edge board side. Who knows how many other ways it has been done? If anyone has a good document telling how it was done for a particular period I would like to see it.

 

Here is how I did it. I was pretty anxious about doing this because it was my first attempt. To my surprise, not only was it easy, but the nibs came out perfectly symmetrical port to starboard for the full length of the hull!

 

Here you can see how the plank end was first marked at half the width. Note that the paper "grout" was wider than the plank edge so it stood proud of the plank. Later it was shaved down to plank height and sanded smooth.

 

Then the plank was positioned with the forward end at the trailing edge of the previous nib.

 

 

Then it was trimmed at an angle from the half width mark at the forward end back to where the outboard side of the plank encountered the edge board.

 

The edge board was marked with the outline of the nibbed plank and cut so the plank would fit into the notch in the edge board.

 

This picture shows the nibbed plank and the notch in the edge board.

 

 

I used black paper at a thickness  of a scale 3/8 inch for the "tar" grout between the planks. Some people use black pencil, charcoal or black marker for the grout. It depends upon the scale width of the grout.

 

This picture shows how the black paper "grout" wrapped around the end of the plank.

 

 

Here is a picture of the final deck.

 

 

Not bad for a first attempt! I can live with this.

 

Here is a link to the build log with more details:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=603771

Edited February 15, 2023 by Dr PR

[Knocklouder]

That is nice    

[CLovehitch]

Thank you so much, i have wanting to do this for a long time. but never had an idea how to do it .Pictures are worth a 1000 words, beautiful work shown here!  I assume one needs a solid a solid sheet of wood then shape to the bow?

Thank you Nick

[allanyed]

6 hours ago, CLovehitch said:

I assume one needs a solid a solid sheet of wood then shape to the bow

Are you speaking about the shape of the waterway? (outboard most piece)

 

Depending which ship, era, nationality and deck,  the planking may very well have been done as shown on the following rough sketch.  

Allan

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by allanyed

[Dr PR]

The margin boards (edge planks) along the sides of the hulls (part of the waterways) were bent in this case. That was a project in itself because planks do not "want" to bend on the long dimension. I boiled them to heat them all the way through (it is the heat that softens the wood, not the water) and them clamped them in place. I used multiple margin boards along the length of the ship.

 

It would have been a lot easier to start with a wide piece of wood the proper thickness and cut the curved board from it. I ended up doing this for the cap rails. On the three ships with wooden decks I served on (1960s and 70s) the margin boards were fashioned in this way by carving them from wider planks.

 

The actual method of planking the deck varied from century to century and place to place. The type of vessel (military, commercial and yacht) also influenced the planking method.

 

The "nibbing" method I show was popular in the 1800s and 1900s, and perhaps part of the 1700s. It uses straight planks.

 

I think the technique Allen shows is called "hooking" and it seems to have been popular in earlier years. The planks were often curved, and had to be much wider at the "hook" end. It has the advantage that the margin boards or waterways are much simpler and have no nibs.

 

Another method that is popular with fancy yachts had simple margin boards/waterway planks. The deck planks curved along the outboard edge and were nibbed into a plank on the centerline of the deck. This center plank had sawtooth-like nibbing.

[GrandpaPhil]

While we’re on the topic, any idea about which style applied to late 16th century English?

Edited February 18, 2023 by GrandpaPhil

[allanyed]

Phil

Are you asking about for the Revenge  1577, or later, 1652, 1654 or 1699?  Not sure it matters, but I am also curious to see an answer based on contemporary sources.

Allan

Edited February 18, 2023 by allanyed

[GrandpaPhil]

1577

[Gregory]

The Jiggling or Nibbling didnt show up till late 18th century..

 

The hook method that Allan illustrated may have been used.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!

[CLovehitch]

Good morning , yes the waterway, was the question, sorry about that.

Thank you for a supportive group!.

Nick

[CLovehitch]

Good morning , yes the waterway, was the question, sorry about that.

Thank you for a supportive group!.

Never thought about boiling the wood, fantastic idea and technique!

I have been working on wood ship models for over 25 years, i would like to find a simple and professional way to plank the hulls.

I am proficient but there is always a better way!

So many ideas out there, I like the term "Kiss".

Nick

 

[allanyed]

2 hours ago, CLovehitch said:

i would like to find a simple and professional way to plank the hulls.

Clovehitch,

GOOD ON YOU FOR ASKING FIRST.

The key is remembering that the planks taper to about half their width from the dead flat to the bow and end at the rabbet with one or sometimes two exceptions.   The best advice I can think of, assuming you will use planks from the kit is to watch the 4 part video by Chuck Passaro about planking on You Tube.    Part one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCWooJ1o3cM

They also usually get wider at the stern, but using kit supplied planks you can use stealers.   Do a search here at MSW, there are a lot of posts on drop strakes, stealers, and planking in general as a ship was actually planked.

 

Regarding boiling, that is not really needed.  No harm, but not needed.   Heat is the key more so than moisture.   Watch the videos and you will be happy with the results you can achieve.   You may want to invest in a $15 hot air gun versus a mini iron, but both work well.  Hair dryers don't get hot enough most of the time and if it is hers, there in lies a problem.

 

Allan

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by allanyed

[Gregory]

42 minutes ago, allanyed said:

Hair dryers don't get hot enough most of the time

I have found these mini heat guns to work well.

Mlife Mini Heat Gun