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[TCC]

About 13 yrs ago, I bought enough to plank the deck, now I'm looking at LION anew and I'm not happy with the forecastle around the anchor chains and hawse pipes so I want to re-plnk that area. The problem is I don't know what wood this is nor do I know where I can buy these planks from again.

They are approx 20 ¼ inches long (or 515 mm). Now the width was around 3mm give or take .5mm (some where 3.5mm, some 3mm and some 2.5mm.

They are a softwood colour and have a orangy grain in them. On some planks, the grain runs fom end to end but on the majoriy, it's more like planks 3 & 4 above, looking from L to R.

So I need to know wood type and/or someone who sells it.

Thanks

[tigertiger]

Could it be balsa?

It looks tropical to me. But what do I know.

[barryfoote]

Balsa!!!!!I don't think so. Look more like pre stained ramin to me.

[derekwarner]

Hi all.....TCC ..I tend to agree with the previous suggestion of Ramin....it is marketed here in OZ under the same name .....usually via hobby shops & I assume imported from European suppliers ...however I suspect the origin of the timber is from Asia or Latin America

The timber is certainly course grained with raggy edges, but even in .075 x 3.0 section with generous steaming is prone to breakage ....Derek

[TCC]

Hi Lds, thanks. It's not Balsa.. I'm certain of that. Rammin? Don't know... it was bought from a proper model boat shop that sold many comercial ranges of stuff: i.e it has the K&S range of metals, there was the similar range in styrene (the 'I' and 'L' beams in sizes along with the various sheets, the inevitable Reade range of fittings:
http://www.readebusiness.com/page2.html

... and all that sort of stuff.

Now the wood also looked to be from some range and these planks were part of that. This is what makes me thnk I'll still bne able to buy them now. It was a little shop and the guy will have bought his range of wood as a 'range' and I'm thinking (hoping) that guys who've been around model boats for years will recognise these strips.

I've just measured it's thickness and 4 strips are just under 3mm thick.

Yes.. a small percentage of them didn't have straight edges when they were 'cut'.

Thanks

[Reade Models]

the inevitable Reade range of fittings:
http://www.readebusiness.com/page2.html

I've heard them called all sorts of things, but "inevitable" is a new one on me!

Malc

[TCC]

the inevitable Reade range of fittings:
http://www.readebusiness.com/page2.html

I've heard them called all sorts of things, but "inevitable" is a new one on me!

Malc

Hiya malc, I didn't mean anything by that, it's jus that I remember them from more than a decade ago and I saw the same dipplay the other week, wooden case? right? It's right there next to the 'inevitable' K&S rack or in front of the 'inevitable' till. 

I meant it as a compliment: as in no self-respecting model shop would be without one of your displays. ;-)

[Reade Models]

the inevitable Reade range of fittings:
http://www.readebusiness.com/page2.html

I've heard them called all sorts of things, but "inevitable" is a new one on me!

Malc

Hiya malc, I didn't mean anything by that, it's jus that I remember them from more than a decade ago and I saw the same dipplay the other week, wooden case? right? It's right there next to the 'inevitable' K&S rack or in front of the 'inevitable' till. 

I meant it as a compliment: as in no self-respecting model shop would be without one of your displays. ;-)

No offence taken...

(It's nice to know that somebody out there still recognises them)   

Malc

[nhp651]

It's the garbage that Billing Boats used to pass off as "mahogany" planking in their kits 25 - 35 years ago before they changed over to obeche'.
It was of an undecipherable type of timber but the concensus was that it was in fact "Sapele" which was a cheep dirivitive of asian mahogany and had a "short grain" which was made up of a lot of cross graining which picked up when planing and sanding on larger pieces and why, when used in Billing kits would almost always snap into many unusable lengths when planking onto a frame.
That is also why it always had a ragged edge to it.
Very cheep and Nasty stuff to work with, and why Billing had such a lousy name with modellers for years.

[TCC]

Malc, I'll tell you how I came to recognise them. I read a post the other week where you were talking about the ill effects of prolonged exposure to plastic-injection mchines in your family. Curiousity aroused as to what fittings you were making, I looked your firm up and voila... I recognised the range I'd been seeing all these years.

.. and I'll bet everyone in here is now thinking 'ah.. so that's who makes them'.


NHP651: thanks mate. I'm now looking for eiter a local shop (merseyside) or mailorder who sells a variety of wood. I'll probably send a sample of my plank with the request.

'Short grain':
yes, that's a term I'd use to describe it.

Very cheep and Nasty stuff to work with
I didn't have too much trouble with it, as I remember. But then again, I didn't try to 'caulk' the strips. I just glued them down next to each other, then sanded with the grain.

One point, I'd probably get away with any of the softwood coloured hardwoods (cept balsa) for these planks as long as the tone of the colour matched? Do you think?

[barriew]

You could try Dennis Nixon - he cuts and sells wood to the trade as well as by mail order. He advertises in the back of MMI, (probably MB as well). PM me if you need his address.

Barrie