What glue to use

[David Enghauser]

Having just finished the Endurance, I am about to begin the Pride of Baltimore. I used wood tile wood glue for the planking on the Endurance, but am wondering if there is a better choice. I noticed someone mentioned a hot glue gun, others have mentioned super glue to start an end. I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

Thank you.

[Dziadeczek]

 

[Gregory]

While there are different preferences based on experience  there are some excellent examples of people using CA here.

 

A couple of my favorites are Glenn Barlow's Cheerful and Winchelsea.

 

Chuck Passaro who has been very helpful with his planking tutorials, uses CA.

Chuck is also a master model builder and designer.

 

After following Glenn and Chuck for some time, CA has become my preferred planking glue.  It takes some practice and care, but once you are comfortable with it, nothing beats it for speed, and all the clamps and clamping gizmos that go along with PVA are not necessary.

 

CA has it's detractors for one reason or another, but it is very effective when used correctly.

[David Enghauser]

Chuck's videos are very helpful. How does he establish the tick marks for the planks?

[David Enghauser]

I meant the tick marks on the bulkheads.

[Gregory]

The tick marks are based on the width of the planks at a particular bulkhead and enable you to determine the taper of the planks.

Typically the most full size planks would be found in the middle of the ship.  ( amidship )

 

Imagine this is your middle bulkhead.  I have marked the 5mm width of the planks ( not scaled ) and determined there are 20, with the bottom plank ( garboard ) being a little wider.

That will have to be accounted for later.

At the bow of the ship you will have a much smaller space to fill.

Lets say the space for those 20 planks is only 70mm at the bulkhead closest to the stem.  You would divide 70 by 20 to give you 3.5mm.    So, your planks would have to taper from 5mm amidship to 3.5mm at the bow.

Your tick marks at the bow would be 3.5mm apart.  So, using some sort of tape, you would establish the width of the planks across the intervening bulkheads.

You would duplicate the process from midship to stern.  You might find at the stern you need more than 20 planks, in which case you would need wider planking stock, which is usually not provided in a kit, so you would have to introduce stealers, which might be better left for another discussion.

 

I will try to find you some examples of people lining off the bulkheads with tick marks.

Hopefully this will give you some information for starting the process.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8 by Gregory

[David Enghauser]

Very helpful. Thank you.

 

Another question. In the video it appears that he only bends the planking one way.  I assume that by trimming the planking based on the tick marks that allows the plank to sit flat against the bulkhead.

 

[Gregory]

2 minutes ago, David Enghauser said:

I assume that by trimming the planking based on the tick marks that allows the plank to sit flat against the bulkhead.

That is pretty much it.  The bending will  take place in two directions as it also has bend some latterly as well a vertically.

Imagine a piece of tape on the surface of a sphere.

[mtaylor]

There are in various places here on MSW, planking fans which simplifiy the process of marking off the hull.    One such I'm posting below.

 

plankingfan.pdf,

[Gregory]

Another good resource is to look at logs for the NRG Half Hull Planking Project ..

 

A lot of good tips on planking done right.

[Dr PR]

I don't especially care for "super glue" (cyanoacrylate). It sets too quickly to allow for adjustments. CA doesn't adhere well to metals. It leaves a permanent blemish (shiny spot that won't take stains) on wood surfaces so be careful using it on surfaces that will not be painted.

 

I have used Sig-Bond aliphatic resin for gluing wood. It does take a while to set up, but makes a strong bond to porous materials.

 

My favorite glue is Duco Cement (nitrocellulose in acetone). I have been using this glue for perhaps 70 years. It sets quickly (about 20 seconds) but gives you time to adjust things. It hardens fully over night. It adheres to wood, glass, plastic and metals.

 

But the best "glue" for non-porous materials like metals and glass is epoxy. It also works well for porous materials like wood. In fact, it is probably the best glue for anything, but is not as convenient (has to be mixed immediately before use) as other glues.

[allanyed]

14 hours ago, David Enghauser said:

Chuck's videos are very helpful. How does he establish the tick marks for the planks?

https://thenrg.org/resources/Documents/articles/APrimerOnPlanking.pdf   While this tutorial uses the more traditional method of spiling, there is a description on making the marks on the bulkheads or frames which is applicable to using pre edge bent planks as well.

 

As to glue, I prefer PVA as for me CA is noxious so I can only use it sparingly without getting nauseous or a headache.

 

Allan

[Gregory]

I will say I do a lot of dry fitting before use the CA. 

[glbarlow]

I wonder how many threads there are on this topic, it always serves to bring out the the same comments and commenters. 
 

I use the best glue for the job, for framers and bulkheads it’s Titebond wood glue, for planking it’s Smith Industries  CA(not all CA glue is the same), because I heat bend and fit each plank first. For other work it’s White PVA. 
 

For those sensitive to CA, Smith Industries makes an odorless version. 
 

Use what works for you, for more opinions (and entertainment) do a search on this site on this topic. 

[rlwhitt]

2 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I wonder how many threads there are on this topic, it always serves to bring out the the same comments and commenters. 
 

I use the best glue for the job, for framers and bulkheads it’s Titebond wood glue, for planking it’s Smith Industries  CA(not all CA glue is the same), because I heat bend and fit each plank first. For other work it’s White PVA. 
 

For those sensitive to CA, Smith Industries makes an odorless version. 
 

Use what works for you, for more opinions (and entertainment) do a search on this site on this topic. 

 

Glenn, 

 

with regard to the Bob Smith CA, for planking what thickness do you usually use?  I see that they make 3 basic ones.

 

Thanks!

[glbarlow]

1 hour ago, rlwhitt said:

Bob Smith CA, for planking what thickness do you usually use?

I use the medium (purple) Insta-cure+ for planking. For some things, like cannon carriage to the deck, I use the red Maxi-cure - I never use the blue Thin version. It's good stuff.