Plank caulking using tissue paper tutorial by Nigel Brook.

[NMBROOK]

After experimentation and actually using this technique on my Mordaunt build,I decided I would post a small tutorial of this system I developed due to the interest it caused.

Whilst I am not reinventing the wheel,this is a variation I adopted on the common method of using black paper.There are disadvantages with using black paper,firstly,that it reduces the glue penetration in a joint and secondly,it can appear too thick at the smaller scales.Some may say,the strength is not an issue for planking on a false deck,fair point,but I wanted a system that could be used for all joints where some caulking or similar would be used.This would include scarph joints in the keel where strength is important.

There are many similarities in techniques between using paper and tissue,but there are small differences caused by the delicate nature of the tissue.

This is a pic of the lower gun deck on Mordaunt using this technique.The timber is Pear and the planks are 6mm wide max(the planking is tapered)

To demonstrate the technique,I will be planking a small deck section that goes under the main deck hatches on Norske Love.This piece doubles up as part of the structure and is made from 6mm birch ply.No camber is incorporated as this will be unnoticeable as the only real view is through a companionway.It does have some shear and this is conveniently catered for by the bow the ply has attained,being stood in the corner of the workshop for several months.

The planks are cut from 3mm boxwood sheet.Cutting from the edge of the sheet,using the thickness as the plank width,helps maintain consistency.I cut the planks @1.5mm thick.To me this is less important as the deck will be scraped/sanded smooth.All gluing is done using Deluxe Materials Aliphatic Resin.The black tissue paper is acid free and bleed resistant.I obtained mine from WHSmith in the UK and can be found in the present wrapping section.

A section of tissue was placed on a small piece of clean glass.Glue was added to one side and one end of the plank.The plank is placed edge down on the tissue,ensuring the tissue develops no creases and the plank is firmly down on the glass.I then slice the tissue with a new scalpel blade to form a 'finger' that can be curled up on the plank end.The process is repeated until you have a good quantity of planks 'edged'.

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When the glue goes clear,but not fully set,slice through the paper between the planks.The individual planks will simply break off the glass with a little twisting pressure.The tissue should remain intact on the plank.Whilst the glue is still in the 'green' stage (a bit like cheese as it hasn't fully hardened),carefully trim the tissue flush with the plank faces.Keep the scalpel blade cutting toward the plank,not away as this can drag pieces of tissue off the edge.You can wait until the glue has hardened overnight,but I found this much harder and more time consuming.

Lay the planks in a conventional manner,ensuring to keep the tissue covered faces going the same way.I brush over the surface with a small wetted paintbrush.This consolidated any glue that has oozed out and is added insurance against the tissue dragging with the sanding and scraping.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

Edited July 19, 2014 by NMBROOK

[RichardG]

Thanks for the details Nigel. I will be using this technique on my 1/50th scale cutter. I think it looks really good. I did find leaving the glue too long did make things more difficult. I used very fine scissors to trim the tissue.

[mtaylor]

Excellent tutorial, Nigel.  Thanks!

[pete48]

Thank's Nigel, I've been waiting for this one , Well done and informative I will try it

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[Bindy]

Thank you very much for the tutorial!

 

The clear pictures and matching explanations make it so easy to follow and the results are just perfect.  Thank you again!

[shoule]

 Thanks, Nigel.

 I use very thin brown paper, like from packing or botique type bags, with diluted, water soluable, glue and I don't find strength an issue because it seems to penetrate the paper well.

 Whatever finish I use, usually darkens it to a dark, natural color.

 I may be underthinking it, but works well enoigh for the look I like.

 I look forward to your extended use and thanks for the post.

 

Cheers,

Steve

[shihawk]

Thanks Nigel  thats something i will definately be trying

[dgbot]

I learn something new everyday.  Thanks Nigel.

David B

[WackoWolf]

Thank you very much for sharing this with us. It has answer a lot of question about this subject.

[allanyed]

Very nice write up Nigel.  The explanation of slicing away the planks from the tissue sheet while the glue is semi cured should be heeded. Too soon will see some tearing but too late is as described previously, possible but difficult.

 

For those in the states,  I bought a pack of black tissue at Michael's some years ago and I think they sill carry it.

 

 

Allan

[NMBROOK]

Thank you everyone for such positive feedback and the likes  

 

I agree Alan,trimming the tissue when the glue is 'green',is pretty vital to make the job easier.I found when the glue was hard,the scalpel would want to dig into the plank face,but when not fully cured,the blade followed the face of the timber.For the particular glue I used,trimming when the glue had just turned clear,i.e. no white areas left,seems like a hard and fast rule.For different brands,a little experimentation may be advised,as you say,too soon and the tissue disintegrates when you try and cut it.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[maltbyguy]

thanks for the tutorial I will be trying it on my next build

 

just one point as a yorkshireman that seems a waste of tissue leaving such a large gap between planks

 

(this will be lost on most members !)

Andy

[Keith_W]

Thank you Nigel, I have been waiting for this. I do have a couple of questions - why do you lay the planks separately, and what stops them from falling over given that you have laid them on the edge? What happens when you clamp the planks together, spread glue over the entire clamped face, and then lay the tissue paper on top?

 

I really like the result. I want to try this!

[allanyed]

Keith,

I am sure Nigel will answer you, but from my experience, the glue holds the planks upright, no problem.  If they are close together they will wind up glued together.  That is my experience anyway.

Allan

[NMBROOK]

thanks for the tutorial I will be trying it on my next build

 

just one point as a yorkshireman that seems a waste of tissue leaving such a large gap between planks

 

(this will be lost on most members !)

Andy

You are correct Andy,what was I thinking     .Seriously though,the tissue can want to tear when you slice between,so this is added insurance

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[NMBROOK]

Thank you Nigel, I have been waiting for this. I do have a couple of questions - why do you lay the planks separately, and what stops them from falling over given that you have laid them on the edge? What happens when you clamp the planks together, spread glue over the entire clamped face, and then lay the tissue paper on top?

 

I really like the result. I want to try this!

Hi Keith

Alan is quite correct,the planks stay upright as the glue grabs instantly due to the tissue absorbency.I tried the on mass technique and it doesn't work.The difference with tissue is that you need to apply enough glue to penetrate the tissue,otherwise it will not cut cleanly.The glue ooze out at the sides acts as a reinforcer to enable the tissue to be cut cleanly.Using this quantity of glue on a bundle of planks results in a solid mass when the glue dries.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[Keith_W]

Thank you for your answers, Nigel and Allan. I am pretty sure that I saw Dr. Mike apply his caulking paper to all his planks simultaneously by clamping the planks together in his video, but I would have to look again to make sure.

 

Using your method, I would be concerned about glue going up the sides of the planks - if they dry on the sides, they won't be flat and they may be difficult to lay on the deck? Do you wipe the glue off the side of the plank before it dries? Do you shave off the dried glue when you cut the planks free of the caulking tissue?

[NMBROOK]

Hi Keith

Yes the excess glue is easily shaved off the plank faces whilst it is semi-hard.I realise Dr Mike does his caulking on mass,but he uses normal paper,not tissue which is thinner and more delicate.Any irregularities are overcome with scraping as my planks are overthick to allow for this.One point with Dr Mikes system,is that he invariably works to the larger scales and his deck planks are scale thickness,this will give him a strip around 2mm thick plus.Part of the reasoning behind using tissue is a thinner line,suitable for smaller scales.Dr Mike advocates glue with pigment in for these smaller scales and I didn't fancy that as it will follow any irregularities in the plank edges,the surface finish on the edges would have to be nigh on perfect.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[dgbot]

Like I said before Nigel.  A great Idea.  However at the smaller scales I have found that taking a piece of wood that is the same thickness as the width of the plank and giving it a light coat of paint will do nicely as well.  Once the paint dries you just slice off the planks and apply them in the same matter.  Since I am a firm beliver in scraping a slight irregularity in the plank hight does not bother me.

David B

[NMBROOK]

I can see the paint technique working well on less absorbant timbers David.I would be a little concerned about using it on Pear like on Mordaunt.I think experimentation would be required as it is like a sponge and I should imagine would be prone to bleeding.On boxwood,like in this tutorial,bleeding would be non existent.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[dgbot]

Nigel, It depends on the paint.  I have used this method with pear, and apple as well as several hardwoods.  Once the piece has been brought to the right thickness I would give it a coat of sealer.  Once dry I would spray it on usinf either a rattle can or my airbrush.  Since the paint would be half dry by contact I never had any problem with bleeding.  But you are correct that experimenting is the best way to do it.

David B

[Keith_W]

Thank you for your explanation, Nigel. I have been thinking of trying your method, but I am not sure if it would work with my ship being 1/72 scale. Your Mordaunt is 1/60 scale and it looks absolutely beautiful. I guess i'll just have to experiment and see if it works!

[NMBROOK]

Hi Keith

The deck section here is for a scratch built Norske Love  at 1/72 The planks are 3mm wide.I shall post pics here when scraped and finished so you get an impression.Hopefully by next weekend if all goes to plan.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[cwboland]

Nigel,

 

Interesting and very useful tutorial.  Will have to keep this in mind for future builds

[NMBROOK]

Hi All

Just a follow up post showing the above deck section scraped and given a coat of poly.The planking does not go to the edges due to how this section fits into the Norske Love's skeleton

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[Chuck Seiler]

Nigel,

   Are there any issues with sanding the deck once the glue is all dry?

 

Nigel/David B/All,

   I understand David's method is for when you are slicing planks from a sheet where width of plank=thickness of sheet.  Instead of painting the edge, would it work if you glued the tissue to the sheet and made the slices after it dried?

[NMBROOK]

Hi Chuck

No issues whatsoever scraping/sanding the deck once the glue is hardened off overnight,I even sanded with P60 grit in an early trial just to be sure!The glue fully penetrates the tissue making it a solid medium.

In theory,gluing the tissue to the sheet should work,the hard part is ensuring it is glued flat to the surface.The tissue is sooo thin that even any slight unevenness in the glue film will make the tissue appear wavy when the planks are laid.If some method of flatting the tissue with a credit card sized piece of plastic could be used without the tissue disintegrating,I don't know.I didn't experiment with this as Mordaunt's deck planks are shaped,not parallel runs.The tissue can be applied and smoothed with a finger on the edges of these planks,but how this would fair when working on a much larger surface,only experimentation would reveal.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

[Chuck Seiler]

Nigel,

    Thanks.  Maybe I will do some experimentation.  I have been using the old pencil-along-the-edge method.  It works relatively well but thre is always room for improvement.

[Ulises Victoria]

Aha! I tried using tissue paper to do the planking in my Royal Louis decks, but that didn't work for me because I tried the "mass gluing" method. I see now that planks should be laid separately. That is a whole new animal. I may try that on the upper deck of my ship later.

 

Thanks for the info.

[maltbyguy]

Hi all I have been trying this method on my current build of Vassa (yes a log will follow soon) and I have found that tissue paper has a sort of bias if you glue ascoss it the tissue paper will wrinkle along the bias or grain it stays nice and flat

Is it just my paper or has anyone else found this ?

 

Andy