what kind and dimension of wood (or other material) to use as battens to guide planking?

[palmerit]

As the title says: what kind and dimensions of wood strips do you use for battens to guide planking? Or should I instead use thread or tape? I've seen a lot of different approaches to using battens on build logs and in guides and I'm not sure what to do.

 

I didn't use battens when I planked my Sherbourne, and they wouldn't have made sense on the Dory. I'm thinking I want to use them on my Half Hull project.

 

The only spare wood strips I have laying around is a couple of pear wood strips from my Sherbourne. They're pretty stiff. And they're too short for the Half Hull.

 

With a wood batten, I take it I want something pretty narrow and thin (but long) and flexible. Not sure how narrow and how thin would work best - guessing it depends on the kind of wood.

 

After using basswood on the Dory and Half Hull, it's pretty soft, and snaps easily. Without soaking it a bunch, it would seem like a lot of work to use as a batten. And it would seem to be really delicate if in really long strips. By contrast, the pear wood bends quite a bit and it would take a lot for it to snap. But I think pear wood is pretty expensive.

 

Is there some kind of wood that I can get that's narrow, thin, and long that would be good to use as a batten?

 

I tried using some really thin Tamiya tape, but I think I want something that I know will lay like a plank - the tape seemed happy to go just about anywhere (it's tape after all). I suppose I can experiment with trying string, where I can hold it on both ends and then tape it down.

 

If I get some wood to use for battens, I could also use it to check that the hull is fare properly without using the wood I will be using for the model. It seems that there often isn't much extra wood, and in the case of the Half Hull, you get a sheet of basswood to cut, not wood strips.

 

[Jim Lad]

In my opinion, wooden battens are the go, as they easily take on o natural even curve. I generally cut down a scrap of my favourite Privet (character like Boxwood), but it really needs to be the fu;ll length of the hull to give you a good curve. The thinner the better in my experience.

 

John

[Ronald-V]

I would try different materials and see what you like best. Everyone has their own preferences.

 

I have experience with wooden battens and tape. Wooden battens follow the natural curves more easily without "sharp corners".

And with tape you have to be more careful not to get "sharp" corners. For example, with my current Sphinx build I used wooden battens for the

first layer because I didn't quite understand how the lines would be, and for the second layer I used tape because I already felt a bit more confident

to set out the lines with tape. (Tape is easier to attach than wooden battens).

 

In terms of dimensions I wouldn't go wider than 4mm (and not to thick say 1mm), whether it's tape or wood...and anything below that is fine. Again, experiment to see what you like

Edited October 28 by Ronald-V

[palmerit]

This is the wood supplier place linked from the Syren Model Ship Company: https://www.modelerssawmill.com

 

Their thinnest is 1/32" (.79mm).

 

In terms of width, would it be better to get the narrowest width, which I think would also be 1/32" (79mm) or something wider like 3/64" (1.2mm), 1/16" (1.6mm), or 5/64" (1.98mm), or even wider than that?

Edited October 29 by palmerit

[wefalck]

Apart from John's comment, it also depends on what you really want to do with it.

 

Wooden battens indeed follow a natural curve of the hull and would be the tool to go to, when your planking scheme is unconstrained.

 

On the other hand, if you want to reproduce the planking scheme of a historical prototype or model, you may have to divide the circumference of the frame into the correct number of planks and this will determine their run, width and shape. These can be taken off with strips of transparent paper and transferred to the plank.

 

BTW, the main constrain on planking schemes are the wales and rails (and of course the keel, as well as stem- and stern-post), which are given by the historic design. So the planking has to fall in between these.

Edited October 28 by wefalck

[Chuck]

I usually go with 3/64 thick by 1/16.   You could go thinner but I prefer a little more meat.   I will at times go wider on larger models but 1/16" wide usually works just fine for me.   If you are just ordering a few strips from Joe for this purpose,  I would get both 1/32" and 3/64" thick strips which wont costs much considering you will have to pay shipping which will be the same for both thicknesses.   I would go with boxwood or yes even cedar but any wood that isnt splintered will work just fine.  Boxwood preferred.

[druxey]

I've used battens in the past, but find that black thread works really well for me. Applied with spots of PVA (white glue) it is easy to moisten a finger and roll the thead up or down as required until all runs smooth and fair. Also, it's really cheap!

[palmerit]

I ended up ordering a variety of wood from https://www.modelerssawmill.com. Joe was really quick to respond, patient about my questions, and even texted Chuck to share an answer (that Chuck provided here). I ended up ordering some boxwood and alaskan yellow cedar strips (each in two different thicknesses, 1/32 and 3/64) to see the difference between them. I also ordered a few alaskan yellow cedar sheets (4" wide, in a few different thicknesses, .025", 1/32, 3/64, and 1/16). Given how often I've had to build up places, I thought it would be helpful to get a few different thicknesses. And I'm sure I'll find a use for them in the future.