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[wilspaul49]

Can someone plase advise me on the best method of a. taking accurate measurments and B tapering planks accurately. i have
a worryingly high pile of ruined discarded planks that have been either measured wrong or cut wrong.
Also whats the best plane to buy.
thanks
Paul

[Martin (Admin)]

 
http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/plankingprojectbeginners.pdf

https://youtu.be/N-FJQZlLMhU

 https://youtu.be/lw9qGHYqWzE

[Perkasaman2]

What type of boat does the hull belong to and what are the dimensions of the hull you are building? This information will help us to give further advice and help.

[Brian60]

The links Martin has posted really will help- a lot! I found modelshipworld has lots of documents that are worth a read and certainly helped me when I built the sailing trawler.

Check out this link on our forums as well....  http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,19422.0.html  its a bit long winded at times, but if you want to do your planking correctly this is the method, sadly this member passed away a couple years ago.

[wilspaul49]

Thanks very much for the suggestions and helpful links. My planks are 4mm x 400 mm and was wondering about planes, I purchased a miniture wooden plane off amazon but the blade seems to be useless! has anyone got a reccomendation regarding a good plane that I could purchase. Also Im finding working with a 6 inch metal ruler very hard to read are there
any reccomendations for dividers etc that would make life easier.
thanks Paul

[Perkasaman2]

Hi Paul your planking timber is quite thick. I can understand your need for a plane. My choice would be a block smoothing plane which I find comfortable to use with one hand and with good control.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stanley-5-12-020-9-1-2-Block-Plane-and-Pouch-/231595087206?hash=item35ec249566

You need to plane 'with' the timber grain. Timber usually only planes in one direction. Try from one direction and then from the opposite. You  will soon realise which is the right direction to plane the timbe and achieve a smooth cut.

Marking off timber for taper is called 'scribing'. If the taper from parrallel is 5mm then clamp strip to be cut 5mm gap toe-in and use a pencil and a  short offcut of the same plank material and run them along the length to scribe a cut line. Unclamp your strip and plane it down to the pencil line. This is far easier than it sounds written once you have the hang of it. You can of course use dividers instead of the offcut and pencil to scribe if you wish.

It's very important to keep the plane blade nice and sharp and this gismo is excellent for use with your oilstone to maintain it's correct honing angle. Here's a link to a kit which includes everything you need as a guide.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAITHFULL-Honing-Sharpening-Oil-Stone-Guide-Kit-For-Chisel-Plane-Blade-FAIOS8CHG-/320070677906?hash=item4a85b2f592

I hope the above is some help.

 


.

[david48]

Have a look on Axminster tools web site there will be something there
David

[SailorGreg]

For what it's worth (not a lot!), my view is steer clear of "modelling" planes and go for a proper full size tool.  Perkasaman's link gives one, here is another.  And spend a morning learning how to sharpen it, if you don't already know.  Plenty of internet advice available on sharpening!

If you buy one of those pretty looking miniature planes for £10 you will have wasted £10.  It will never work properly and will frustrate you.  You can get excellent very small planes (made for instrument makers, like these) but you need a moderate sized mortgage to afford them! 

Buy once, buy wisely 

Greg

Edit:  Just followed david48's advice - how about this one?

[radiojoe]

Hi Paul,  I would agree with Greg,  spend a little more and get the Stanley block plane as a retired Carpenter I can recommend it, I use mine that I bought over 40 years ago for all my modelling, a cheap modelling plane will never be as good.

[david48]

That's the one .
David

[ballastanksian]

If you have a second hand tool shop near you, there might be an old plane that just needs a bit of TLC to get it back in order. These shops often sell cheap stuff, but an old tool will often be a better deal, you may even find an old instrument makers plane for a good price?

Second hand tool shops are a wonderful place to spand an hour browsing:O)

[plugger]

4mm x 400 - I guess is the width and length.


How thick is the plank, and what wood?


Usually planks 4mm wide will be 1 - 1.5mm thick. If the timber is a soft wood (eg bass or lime - commonly supplied in kits for planking) it can be cut with a sharp stanley knife and a steel safety ruler. Harder timbers like walnut will require extra care.

[boat captain]

A set of ratio dividers are indispensable for planking.

 

[mark69]

Sometime ago I made a 69" spitfire from plans and I planked the fuz as there was no way it could be done using sheet balsa , what I did was this ,,(it does work for a boat hull ) firstly the first few planks run straight then when they with start to taper as the shape follows the hull /fuselage ,these strips will overlap the last and it where they intersect is what you cut off ,no need to measure use a straight edge place it on the bottom of the last plank draw a line onto the next plank and that is what you cut .Full size boats don't have planking running full length in on piece. + the length and shape will determine the width and thickness ,bit hard to explane but once you try this method does work ,Google pics or planked hulls .......mark