Shenandoah 1864 by SGraham - FINISHED - Corel - Scale 1:50 - American Civil War-era Cutter

[SGraham]

I've begun planking the bulwarks. Ever since the planking on my Roger B. Taney came out looking so badly back in 1982, I've been reluctant to try it again. Of course, I didn't have MSW available to me back then.

 

The kit came with a pair of plywood bulwarks complete with tabs and slots to help you fix them to the sides of the ship. Since I've decided to try single-planking this hull, I thought the plywood bulwarks might cause a problem. The plywood is the same thickness as the hull planking. Once you've got the plywood installed, you have to cover it inside and out with planks. This means that the bulwarks will be thicker and sticking out further than the rest of the hull planking. If I was double-planking the hull, then the second layer of hull planking would make up the deficit in thickness.

 

Also, the instructions from Corel state that the plywood bulwarks should be glued to the frame tops. After they are dry, the frame tops should be cut away from the bulwarks, down to the level of the sub decking. Then, after the planking is applied inside and out, false frame tops are to be glued onto the inside of the bulwarks. On the real craft, the bulwarks are planked on the outside only, and the frame tops are visible from the inside of the bulwarks.  I've been thinking about how to build the bulwarks without using the plywood.

 

Here are the plywood bulwarks.

 

 

Steve

[SGraham]

So here's what I decided to do. I'm throwing away the plywood bulwarks (if anybody wants them, let me know). I'm using one layer of maple planking only--on the outside of the frames. I'm gluing the lowest bulwark plank to the frames. This is the plank at the level of the sub decking. The plank that lies above that one will be edge glued to the one below it. I'll still use the frame tops as a form, but the planks won't be glued to the frame tops. I'll stop the bead of glue when it gets near the frame top, and then start it up again when I'm past the frame. This way, all of the bulwark planks will be edge glued together, and the frame tops should be easy enough to cut out and remove. The false frame tops that I'll add later should provide plenty of strength--sort of like a nicely jointed guitar top with lateral bracing underneath it.

 

In the first picture you can see my see-through stem rabbet. And in the last photo I thought I'd show the clothes pins I was using as clamps. I had them clamping sideways and vertically on and between every frame. When I picked up the hull, all of the sideways pins let go at the same time, flying over the workbench. It was a most impressive clothes pin broadside. I don't think I could repeat the maneuver if I tried.

 

Here are the first two planks on each side.

 

Steve

[SGraham]

All right, so I've got the bulwarks planked and the frame tops cut out and filled. I think I got a little too enthusiastic rounding off the edges of the planks. Oh well. I'll try to sand them down a bit after I install some false frames to the insides of the bulwarks for strength. If they don't look better after sanding, they just might get filled and painted...or I could double plank the model. The frame tops were a lot easier to cut out than I thought they would be. This boat building is downright absorbing.

 

Steve

[jct]

Hey Steve,

She looks good so far; a question though, are you planning on narrower planks for the lower hull?  You may have an issue getting the wide ones to take the bends required, especially that double 90 at the stern!

THX

J

[SGraham]

Hi J,

 

Thanks for the response. I'm planning on using basswood planks the same thickness as the maple ones. Everything below the bulwarks is getting painted, so I'm not concerned about wood matching. As far as bending goes, I'm just going to have to see. I've got a heavy duty bending iron that bends the maple planks very quickly even when they're dry. So, I'm thinking that if I soak the basswood well before bending I'll be OK.

 

Planking is about as hard as I remember--even the topsides which are supposed to be easy. I'm not happy with the look of the planks on the bulwarks and am going to cover them on the outside with the walnut planks supplied with the kit.

 

Steve

[jct]

Hey Steve,

Sounds like you have a plan, I too find it difficult, on my next build I'm going to try using shorter lengths instead of running a plank down the entire  hull, but I'm sure there are challenges there as well. Keep up the good work

J

[SGraham]

Hi J,

I first tried shorter lengths but found it hard to establish a clean, fair curve. Maybe one long plank to start with to set the pattern and then shorter planks on the rest?

 

How's the Half Moon coming along?

 

Steve

[jct]

Hey Steve,

Maybe, It may work better on a double plank hull... I don't know for sure myself.  The Moon is progressing though slowly, the planking on the wales went well, but I've been struggling to complete her from the keel up, lots and lots of redo's, why I haven’t posted any new pics in a while.  I've only two 5 plank sections of each side left though so hopefully it will in be paint and stain soon.

J

[SGraham]

J,

Did you plank the topsides from the deck level up or from the rail level down?

 

Steve

[dgbot]

I like the way you are double checking your work. You are progessing well. Your work shop would be a candy store. I would try going with a full strake for as long as possible to establish a good run as you go. Then add stealers. Have you thought about how you are going to do the garboard strake?

David B

Edited February 12, 2014 by dgbot

[SGraham]

Hi David,

Thanks so much for the reply and for the kind comments. My shop is all geared to bigger work. The fine, intricate work you all do on this site simply amazes me. Do you have any ships finished or under way here? 

 

Your thoughts about beginning with a long strake make sense and coincide with what I learned from experience. The maple planking would have looked good, but I had a hard time getting a good clean edge on it, as I had to cut the planks with a knife. My table saw is kind of big for such a fine task. I've got a little Craftsman 8" freebie that needs restoring before it can be used but I don't want to put the boatbuilding down.

 

As far as the garboard goes, I can resaw some basswood and don't think I'll have as hard a time cutting my planks out as I did with the maple. I'm going to try to follow Charles Davis' instructions in The Built-Up Ship Model, which I'm sure will be a bit harder than they seem. Do you have insights to share on garboard strakes?

 

Steve

[dgbot]

Steve,

The garboard strake usually started out as the widest plank used. It was shaped to help the hull planking run smooth and keep the use of stealers down to a minimum. Donald Dressel wrote a book titled Planking Techniques for The Model Ship Builder. This book will give you a detailed explanation on the entire subject. I consider it a must in any library. It is still available at very reasonable prices.

David B

[SGraham]

Thanks David. That's great information. I found and ordered Dressel's book. You're right, they are available for very little money. I want to work at this until I really get the art of planking down. Can't wait to give it a read.

 

Steve

[jct]

Hi Steve,

To answer your question I started low and worked up, thinking if I was to end up with a half plank I'd want it under the handrail. Based on the quality of workmanship shown in your photos I think you be able to handle the garboard.

J

[SGraham]

Thanks J. I also started planking up from the bottom of the bulwarks up but found that my top strake was uneven. I've looked around at people's builds here and have decided that I really like the look of an even, symmetrical strake just below the handrail. Maybe any unevenness at the bottom of the bulwarks can be hidden under the waling? Anyways, I'm starting the planking over. I take it that ripping out and starting over is not uncommon in ship modeling.

 

Steve

[jct]

Hi Steve,

I can't speak for others but it sure does for me, got a BIG stack of ripped up planking...though I think some times I'm too pickey, but my eye always goes right to any glitch thats there.  You'll get it where you want it in time, just keep beating on it!

J

[dgbot]

The firstt three to for top planks are always full .  The reason is the are providing support from the wales on up.  From the wale down to the garboard is when they start changning in width.  The wales or rubbing strake was usually double planked for reinforcment.

  You are doing a fine job.  Top down to the rubbing strake then the garboard then any way you feel comfortable.

David B

[SGraham]

Thanks David. That's helpful.

 

Steve

[SGraham]

I'm waiting for Dressel's "Planking Techniques" book to arrive in the mail before I start on the garboards. So, while I'm waiting, I decided to plank the topsides in the walnut supplied with the kit right over the maple planking I installed earlier. One side of the ship is uniformly dark and the other has more variation. The planks were a lot of fun to install. I found a dental bit that makes holes the right size for treenails. Actually, I had to make the diameter of the bit a little smaller by running it against the edge of a metal file. I haven't made any holes in the planking yet--only on scraps. I'm not sure what to fill the holes with that would look good against the dark walnut planking. Suggestions? 

 

Being new to this, I had been wondering how one goes about handling the stem rabbet on a double-planked hull. The first layer of planking had already been glued into the rabbet. How would I make room for another layer of planks? The old Dikar kit that I built back in 80's had you finish planking the hull and then cut a slot for the stem to fit into. It was very hard to do and looked pretty bad. I really like the look of the plank ends resting cleanly in the stem rabbet. As it turns out, it was quite easy to cut a new slot in the first layer of planking. It literally took only a few seconds. You old hands know this already, but I included this for any other newbie like me who might have been wondering the same thing. Just cut it like you did the first one in the false keel, except this time you're cutting it into the first layer of planking.

 

I also planked the insides of the bulwarks and made waterways. I cut the waterways out of maple and used an oscillating spindle sander to get the curve right on the inside. I gave these and the insides of the bulwarks a coat of gray, because I need the contrast in order to install the false frame tops (54 of them total) and then to cut scuppers in between the frame tops. I'm not looking forward to that part of the build, but it has to be done. Actually, a day cutting scuppers beats a lot of other activities that I can think of. If you look closely on the last photo, you can see the little pencil tick marks where the frame tops will go. A few strokes of a file exposes enough wood for a good glue joint.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

Looking good. Did you rub down your planks? 

David B

[SGraham]

Thanks David. I rubbed them down to 400 grit, sealed them with a coat of tung oil and buffed them out with steel wool.

 

Steve

[jct]

HI Steve,

She looks really good, ya gotta love tung oil on walnut.  Do you plan to use the walnut below the wales or will you switch to something else for contrast? 

J

[@macbride]

Steve,

I'm so thankful you're posting this log!!! I'm a first time builder with the same kit, so seeing your progress really gives me perspective and confidence.

All the details are welcome & helpful, no matter how small.

Thanks again!

Andy

[SGraham]

Hey Andy, sound like we're in the same boat--no pun intended. When Model Expo had this kit on sale, it seemed like too good a deal to pass up for a project to learn on.  Are you going to post a build log? I'd love to watch how your build progresses.

 

Thanks J. +1 for the look of tung oil on walnut. My plan is to plank the hull in basswood (please note, that's my plan. My plans on this build seem to be working somewhere in the 15 - 20% range). I'm going to go with the paint scheme suggested in the instructions: white from keel up to the waterline, gray from the waterline to the wale, bright from the wale to the rail cap, gray inside the bulwarks.

 

I'm going to try tapering the thickness of the outer bulwark planking from top to bottom so it's not such a pronounced step down in thickness when it hits the hull planking--even though there will be waling in between.

[@macbride]

Steve I posted a couple questions for u on my log. Please take a look when u have a minute.

 

Thanks!

 

Andy

[SGraham]

I've got the frame tops installed. They still need some filling, sanding, painting, and trimming. After that come the scuppers--the vast multitude of scuppers--the veritable plethora of scuppers...I'm still thinking through how I'm going to cut them. I don't own any needle files the right shape.

 

Dressel arrived in the mail today, so that means there's a garboard in my near future!

 

I apologize for the poor quality photos. My picture taking skills you could stick in my left eye and I'd never feel them. Thanks for reading!

 

Steve

[dgbot]

Once you go through that book my advice would be to practice a little bit. You will find a great resource it was one of the first books I found that was a keeper.

David B

[SGraham]

This afternoon I began cutting scuppers. It took me an hour and a half to get this first pair done. Actually, that included a whole lot of bad practice runs on scrap. I couldn't figure out how to cut nice clean rectangular holes that were small enough. All the instructions say is, "These aren't easy to cut." Helpful. All of my needle files are too big for the job.

 

I finally ended up and grinding down a flat needle file to half its original width. Now I can drill a set of 3 small starter holes close together and then clean them up with the file. Here are the results--and the file. I may get cleaner holes as I progress and learn. Only 37 more pairs to go!

 

Steve

[captainbob]

Nice holes. I'm at the same place on my schooner.  Hope I do as well.

 

Bob

[Mirabell61]

a Cutter !!, one of my Favorites is on your slipway, one could fall in love with a cutters lines,

 

Great Little ship Steve

 

she`s coming well, shall stay tuned as she goes

 

Nils