Hull Planking Hints & Tips By Don Dressel HOW TO BUII.D FIRST-RATE SHIP MODELS FROM KITS PLANKING THE BUILT-UP SHIP MODEL A PROCDURAL GUIDE FOR MODELERS All TYPES OF PLANK ON PLANK-0N·FRAMF SHIP MODELS FROM SCRATCH OR KIT Planking Tools Required • Basic planking tools: – 1. Wood strips – 2. Titebond glue – 3. Drawing materials – 4. Small Clamps, clips, clothespins, etc. – 5. Plus tools as indicated in the following slides. Preliminary steps • The hull to which the planking is going to be installed must be adequately prepared. Planking can be done on solid, plank-on- bulkhead or plank-on-frame hulls. Ship Modelers Association Tools for Foundation Preparation • The only real tool required for hull preparation if it is a solid hull is sanding tools. Sanding blocks are very useful for all types of hulls, but should be long enough to span at least two to four frames at a pass. Plank bending • Various methods are used to bend the planks. Double planked kit model • The first layer of planks should be installed with no particular rule. It does help to be sure and install fillers at bow and stern. MAIN WALES • The next step is locating and installing the main wales. These are not difficult to install if you carefully mount your model so that measurements can be taken from the plans to locate the main wale. Mark it on the hull, both sides (should be identical) and install port and starboard wales. USING A HEIGHT GAGE TO MARK IH£ WALes A COMPASS OR DIVIDER TO MEasure Height gauge HEIGHT oF MAIN WALe STATION & Transfer To MoDEL. uSING HeiGHt GAG£. MARk BoTH FRAME STATION LINES DoWN TO BENcH TOP Treenails • Making treenails is best done out of bamboo. Split the wood, do not cut it to shape. If not bamboo, then birch is a good substitute. 1/16 inch birch dowels can be purchased at many hobby shops in the model airplane section. Treenail maker ROYAL PRODUCTS PO BOX 45J Running Sprines, Ca. 92382 Phone 909-867-3838 Treenail Maker Thousands of our cutters are in use worldwide, many by museum model shops alld professional model builders. as well as tbe hobbyj.r. Treenails in minutes,from 11lmost any type ofwoocl. \Vith our cutters, any 3/64" square, srraighr tighe grained wood will make a perfect treemailF. rom basswood to the most difficult ebony and peroba these cutters1\o'ill produce perfect b'tenalls with a minimu.n of effort. tvt;n ordina ry Oat toothpicks will,ake a very good treenail, plus it' s a gnat way to practice and you n:any cvcu G.ut.l li good use for these in out of the way places on your modcl. Now you ca.n make your treenails that art to seale, matcbed to your plankint.whb an unlimited dec.ret' of t:Ontrast possible. The radial motion of th.e cuftr.r le•vfinegrocwes which absorbs and aachors tbe &Jue makin: tbcstrongesr possible joint. Someody_treenailmalcn.h tm 2141'2004 Stock size • If you are building a kit, no problem. The wood strips are already supplied. • Scale length of planks is about 20 feet. Scale width is determined by size and type of hull. Battens • The lower hull, below the now installed wale, is planked using battens, on both scratch and double planked hulls. Planking measurement • Now you measure the distance between each batten to determine the number of planks required. GUNWALE , MAIN WAle oR ToP of fRAME. TO The RABBET oF THe keeL & DIVID£ PLANK WIDTH . DIAL INDICATOR ON PROPORTIONAL DIVIDERS SET AT NINE Planking Rules • A determination must be made as to the size of the planking (width). Too small a plank will give problems. Better too large in width. • Planking rules should be followed. Fig. 3-4. A l'iew of the Conqueror showing the planks being laid. Notice that the planks from both the bottom up and from the down. Steelers • When the planking strakes required are not enough for the larger space. Deck Planking • The deck planking is relatively simple compared to the hull planking. The center of the deck is where you begin, working your way to the port and starboard bulkheads as you go. • One edge of your deck plank can be treated to simulate caulking – I use a waterproof felt tip pen and run it along the side of the plank. There are other methods. • The covering boards, waterways and margin planks must be installed prior to installing the deck planks. This varies by type of ship. Additional Models • The rest of the slides show fine examples of planking. Many of these models can be seen here at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.