Clamps and other methods for holding down glued planks (first planking and second planking)

[palmerit]

After building my Sherbourne, I've realized that I do not like using CA glue. Maybe someday I'll gain the ability to put just enough glue, the confidence of putting it in the right place, and the speed to do it quickly. But that day is not today. I like using PVA glue. I can easily move and remove the plank.

 

The question is how best to clamp it down. I know some people say you don't need pressure, but I've read that PVA glue binds better with some pressure.

 

I've created some out of blinder clips (https://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/simple-planking-clamp-from-binder-clips/). I've learned (from logs and playing around) ways to use rubber bands (and using clips to exert more pressure from the band. I have some plastic zip ties that I saw some people use, but haven't tried them yet. 

 

The blinder clips work well on a relatively flat area, but don't work as well on a curve or when there are other planks in the way. And of course they don't work if you're doing a double planked hull. I've seen people just use pins, but that looks like it would put a divot on the side of the wood if you apply any pressure, especially if the wood is softer.

 

Can anyone point me to any good solutions I could buy or I could make?

[Gregory]

I mainly use CA, so I don't think I have any innovative clamping ideas beyond what can be found here.  The main challenge is clamping to a curved surface and not marking the wood. 

Once you solve your clamping challenge you might consider the Titebond Speedset glue.  It only needs about 15 minutes clamping time.  I have had good results with it. 

 

[palmerit]

31 minutes ago, Gregory said:

Titebond Speedset glue.  It only needs about 15 minutes clamping time

Cool. Thanks. I'll need to try that glue out. 

 

Someone also suggested Super PHATIC ALIPHATIC Glue Fast Drying. I think that's more like a superglue but not as fiddly. I bought some to try to use with PE parts; it was suggested in the context of asking for an alternative to CA when using photo etch parts). Don't know how well it works with wood (it says it does, don't know how it'd compare to Titebond).

 

I've also seen folks make their own pins that have a piece of wood through them (that can act as a clamp on the plank above or below) and that these work especially well when doing a second planking. I'd love a "how to" for making those (e.g., what kind of pins, what kind of wood). I'm not especially handy.

[Daniel Kimmer]

For the first planking I use plastic spring clamps or modified binder clips. The second layer I use heat bending the plank to "close to proper position" and then masking tape or rubber bands to help hold it in place.  If need be, I pin the plank with brass pin nails.

 

[palmerit]

Right. I've learned a bit to do the shaping of the planks. I suppose if I use a quicker setting glue (like the Tightbond Speedset) I can get by without lots of clamping. I've just seen a lot of various posts about the importance of applying pressure - some way the chemistry of the glue requires pressure, some say it's not needed. I suppose building a model - as opposed to a real ship (or a piece of furniture) - you don't need to worry so much about the pressure dimension of wood chemistry. It just need to stick and stay, hopefully for the long term.,

[palmerit]

I've made a ton of those binder clips and they are useful. I'll often put a piece of scrap wood down between the "clamp" piece of the jury-rigged clip and the piece of plank or other wood (especially if it's a softer wood that will be dented). I've just found that the binder clips don't work well if there a lot to curve and they don't work if there isn't room (e.g., if you're getting to the last few planks). 

[Dziadeczek]

If you pre-bend your plank off the model, frequently checking its shape (until it almost fits the shape of the hull in place it belongs), you'll hardly need ANY clamps!

Soak your planks in luke warm water for a few minutes and with an electric plank bender. or a modified soldering iron (see the pic) try to heat bend the plank, frequently checking its shape. Then place small drops of Titebond glue on the bulkhead edges touching the plank and along the one edge of your plank to glue it to the neighboring plank already installed. I only use ordinary tailor's pins to keep the plank in place, NO pushing force is needed. And I push the pins not through the plank, but rather along its edge to avoid holes in the plank after pins are removed (after the glue dries) - see the pics.

[palmerit]

I also have a ton of the plastic spring clamps (in three different sizes) and little metal clamps.

[mtaylor]

I tend to use clothes pins.  I cutout about halfway the thickness and then down about 1/2".  The long parts grap the fram/bukhead and the "notch" is what clamps the plank down.   I'll have to look for a photo or take one if that would help.

[Dr PR]

I also made a bunch of the modified binder clips, and they are almost worthless. As palmerit noted, if the plank has any twist to it these flimsy clips will not hold down the edge.

 

However, if you bend the plank to fit the hull contours as Dziadeczek said these clamps will hold it in place as the glue sets. It is my opinion that you should never attempt to plank a hull with curves without using a plank bending tool to heat the planks and preform them before gluing. I have posted some example photos and a description of the technique here:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37060-uss-cape-msi-2-by-dr-pr-148-inshore-minesweeper/?do=findComment&comment=1075263

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37060-uss-cape-msi-2-by-dr-pr-148-inshore-minesweeper/?do=findComment&comment=1074225

 

I bend the planks in place on the hull. I clamp the ends of the planks to the bulkheads and then brush on a bit of water. Then I apply the planking iron and the water turns to steam to carry heat into the plank. It is the heat, not the water, that causes the plank to bend. After a single heating step the plank starts to bend. I usually use three wetting/heating passes and the planks will be the shape of the hull. This just takes a couple of minutes to form a plank. For really long planks I heat them in sections, using clamps to hold the remaining plank in place. After bending you can use almost anything to hold them in place while the glue sets.

 

I also have a bunch of the "little metal clamps." I bought some years ago at a model train show and have used them a lot. They are black anodized. Recently I bought a bag of 30 more on Amazon. These are unplated bare metal. The new clamps are wimps compared to the older ones. They have weaker springs and significantly less clamping power. I use these clamps to hold the edges of the neighboring planks together so the edge of one doesn't rise above the other. You can see how this works in one of the photos in the link above.

 

Rubber bands are good for holding planks in place  on convex (outwardly curved) parts of the hull. When the hull is concave (curved inward) you will have to insert a spacer between the rubber band and the plank to force the plank down.

 

I use SIG Bond aliphatic resin glue. It starts to set after a few minutes, so you have time to position the plank, and reposition it if necessary. The glue has set after 30-40 minutes, but really doesn't fully harden until over night. While the glue on one plank is setting I cut and shape another. Then the new plank is glued down. I repeat this until I run out of clamps, so the setting time of the glue is unimportant.

 

Quimp Stattery posted a technique  of pre-gluing the bulkhead and plank surfaces and then putting the pieces together and using heat to melt the glue to attach the pieces together:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37071-planking-without-clamps-clean-up-or-drying-time-a-new-way-to-use-titebond-original/?do=findComment&comment=1060839

 

This could be a way to get a quick setting glue without using cyanoacrylate. I have noticed that this also appears to work with the SIG Bond aliphatic resin glue. I haven't tried it yet, but I may use this technique for planking the deck.

 

Edited November 26 by Dr PR

[GGibson]

On 11/21/2024 at 11:24 AM, palmerit said:

I've also seen folks make their own pins that have a piece of wood through them (that can act as a clamp on the plank above or below) and that these work especially well when doing a second planking. I'd love a "how to" for making those (e.g., what kind of pins, what kind of wood). I'm not especially handy.

 

What you may be referring to is a technique I saw Olha Batchvarov use in one of her YouTube videos re: the USS Confederacy.  It's the #9 video in that series, if the link does not work here.  Her process for making the clamps begins at the 3:50 mark of that video.

 

The biggest and most difficult ship model kit - #09 - USS CONFEDERACY - [WALES]