USS Constitution by The Bitter End - Model Shipways - 1:76

[The Bitter End]

Not a terribly exciting or informative post today...

 

I I took a break from marking up the false keel as I needed to produce the hull planking to see what thickness I could consistently produce. I then churned out about 600 planks of 4.5mm x 1.5mm and will sand them back to their correct thickness as I need them. Because they are cut from raw trunks there is alot of wastage so there will be a fair amount of culling happening.

 

While I was in the "big" workshop I also cut some pear wood planks of 6.7mm on the table saw and simply traced the outline of the provided keel components onto those planks being sure to avoid any knots and major inconsistencies in the wood. I then cut close to the line with my 1970s delta rockwell 14inch bandsaw with a blunt bent blade and then sanded back to the line on the belt sander and with a dremel. This has produced reasonable results and with a bit of tweaking one can get a nice neat fit on the false keel. I hope all this extra work pays off. It is not that obvious in the photos but the pear really is a beautiful wood once it has been given a little bit of attention 

 

It is probably worth repeating the warning that the parts provided in my kit were very fragile and broke exceptionally easily. The kit i have is apparently at least 15 years old which may have played a role in this fragility.

 

These parts still obviously need cleaning up and fitting but here are the rough cuts

 

 

[JSGerson]

Planks are typically no more than 12" (30 cm) wide at midships and with an average length of 40’ (12 m). That means at scale of 1:76.8:

·       Max width: 5/32” (4 mm) (This what is provided in the kit)

·       Average length: 6” (15 cm)

When approaching the bow or stern, the planks will narrow. Do not narrow more than ½ of the original plank width.

 

Jon

[The Bitter End]

10 minutes ago, JSGerson said:

Planks are typically no more than 12" (30 cm) wide at midships and with an average length of 40’ (12 m). That means at scale of 1:76.8:

·       Max width: 5/32” (4 mm) (This what is provided in the kit)

·       Average length: 6” (15 cm)

When approaching the bow or stern, the planks will narrow. Do not narrow more than ½ of the original plank width.

 

Jon

Thank you Jon

 

I think I made a bit of an error and forgot to mention that I meant the planking for the deck. It sounds like you are referring to the hull planking. 

 

Haiko 

 

[JSGerson]

Deck planks were about:

·       20’ (6.4m) long

·       8” and 10” (20 cm and 25 cm) wide

At 1:76.8 scale:

·       3¼” (8.25 cm) long

·       7/64” and 1/8” (2.5 mm and 3 mm) wide

 

Jon

[The Bitter End]

10 minutes ago, JSGerson said:

Deck planks were about:

·       20’ (6.4m) long

·       8” and 10” (20 cm and 25 cm) wide

At 1:76.8 scale:

·       3¼” (8.25 cm) long

·       7/64” and 1/8” (2.5 mm and 3 mm) wide

 

Jon

Outstanding! I owe you a beer