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[Mark T]

Hi All


A bit of an update on my planking efforts which I'm having to fit in around quite a lot of family time at the moment - well the sun is out and you have to make the most of it     Ok I made the first section of three planks below the bulwarks which as I said before needed a drop plank fitting in the bow as the tapers on the planks were turning the ends into splinters.  I think it came out quite nicely as this is the first time I've made one of these joints before.







And some pictures of the side and stern








Then I made the next three plank section which I found a little easier as my plank tapering skills are starting to improve purely out of repetition.  The nice thing is I only have to measure and make one plank accurately as I can then use this as a template for the next five.  I would be lost without my little Veritas plane as its great to get the shape just right without all of the dust that sanding them would bring.











You can see all of my calculations on the wall board for each bulkhead to work out the plank tapers.  I thought that this would be a pain to do but actually I've found it to be a great system that so far seems to be working








Just a few pictures of where the hull is at the moment without any pins or clamps














I could really speed the whole planking process up if I changed glues from aliphatic resin to cyano but I've decided at this stage not too.  I like the way the resin gives me lots of time to move things into their correct position and if I do get it wrong - sorry I meant when I get it wrong again it simply comes apart.  Its slow but enjoyable 


Thanks for looking - Mark 

[ooyah/2]

Mark,
Great workmanship and the skeleton is beginning to take shape.  I know it's a bit difficult to combine your day job and also to spend time with wife and family especially as it's so warm in the workshop.
I shall keep on looking at progress even if it takes some time.


George.

[bfgstew]

Very nice work Mark......

[Mark T]

Thanks lads - I've made some progress but this weekend I've been stripping and rebuilding my sons motorbike engine as he managed to run it dry of oil     Its working now as Dad has worked his magic and brought it back to life after changing the crankshaft bearings.  Needless to say he's learnt his lesson but the boat has had to wait 

[southsteyne2]

Nice work Mark love these old tugs lots of characterCheersJohn

[Bernhard]

  Tip-Top looking real good

[Footski]

Planking going very well indeed so far. Keep it up and the hull is going to be beautiful.

[Mark T]

Thanks very much for the nice comments I really appreciate it     I've now completed the first four sections that I marked out with the battens and its surprisingly gone to plan.  I can now start to see the shape of the hull - here are the pictures

















Funnily enough its doesn't look a lot but to get the plank tapers right takes quite a lot of work.  Now for the really difficult bit - Its time to turn the hull upside down and work from the keel upwards.  I'll get some more pictures up when I can hopefully next weekend.


Thanks Mark 

[Mark T]

Hi All


Sorry for the lack of posting but I've done a bit more so time for another update on my build 


Firstly it was time to start the planking from the keel which involved making the garboard plank which is quite twisty.  I made the garboard plank and the next two that follow too, and then gave them a good soak and clamped them into place.








Once they were dry they looked like this once they were taken off





They were then glued on and I also extended them to the bow stem.  You will notice that I made these planks in two halves this is because trying to shape them, bend them and also make them fit into the rabbet at both ends proved impossible for me.  Hence the two halves which made the job much easier.





The run of the planks meant that they left a gap which was filled with a half stealer plank





And a few pictures of the one side completed











Then it was onto the other side - if in doubt use a powerful clamp 














Next I moved onto trying to plank around the propshaft tube.  I knew that this was going to be particularly difficult, and the builds that I have seen tend to make this out of lots of small pieces of wood and quite a lot of filler.  I now understand why this would be the favoured method but this is my take on the problem.


These photos are just general measuring and marking out








I then cut around the propshaft tube and glued the planks into place.  A little easier said than done








I then finished the planking by making a half stealer to fit around the bottom of the propshaft tube and also made the next plank too.








Its by no means perfect but for a first attempt and also first layer of planking I'll take this result quite happily





The next stage is to plank around the propshaft on the other side and then try and progress the planking up and down.  I'll post some more when this has been done.


Thanks for looking - Mark 

[IanJ]

Mark,


Magnificent! You should be very pleased.


Ian

[bfgstew]

Have been patiently waiting for your latest efforts Mark, and not dissapointed. Very nice workmanship.


Stewart

[Mark T]

Hi Ian and Stewart 


Thanks for the comments; the build is coming along ok albeit very slowly.  I'm noticing now that my woodworking skills are starting to improve a bit but they are no where near where I would like to be.  Practice and time will hopefully improve things.


I keep on thinking about things I could have done better - for example I still get dent marks in the wood even when I try and protect the planks from the clamps.  My cutting up to a line leaves quite a lot to be desired but I'll keep at it.  I also now wished that I had scarf jointed the planks where they butt together like BB does.  Maybe on the next layer of planking I'll give it a go as I've never tried it before.


I am however really enjoying the challenge 


Mark

[dreadnought72]

Scarfs:


For scarfing model boat planking, you'd probably be best making a u-shaped form (aluminium, brass?) with an eight-to-one slope on the vertical sides. Insert plank, hold it steady, and run a blade down the form to accurately cut the scarf. Repeat for plank#2, the other way up! I suspect it would be easiest to glue the scarf up, off the boat.


Clamp crushing: I always used a sacrificial scrap of ply over the plank to distribute the load. Light crushing can be repaired by a gentle, localised, soak of water: a damp ball of cotton wool works well.


Your planking so far is lovely: a real shame to cover it up! 


Andy

[Mark T]

Hi Andy


Thats is brilliant help regarding scarf joints - thank you 


I've seen them but never actually made one and I was wondering if there was a ratio that worked for model boat planking.  I am going to give it a go and I'll make a template as you have suggested as I've got some brass that I can use.  I'll wait until I'm happy with the results until they make it onto the build itself.


Clamp crushing - what a nightmare  Just when you think its all protected from the jaws, you remove the clamps in the morning to discover dents.  I'll try as you have suggested and see if I can get some of them out.


Now its funny what you have said about covering up the planking; because I was thinking about really trying to get the second layer spot on and then using clear varnish instead of paint.  I can't help but feel as though I'm getting ahead of myself saying this but I think I'd like to give it a go.  The perfect scenario for me would be to use a very dark wood to mark the water line but this brings up lots of problems for me. 


Firstly the second planking would be in exactly two halves obviously above and below this line and I'm not sure how the planking would work out.  I would have to look into this and see if its possible to run full length planks this way.  To be honest I've not even worked out how I'm going to clamp the first layer of planks to the second layer as there are some really awkward bends that I will need to get together.


Secondly the keel is made of ply which doesn't look good when varnished so it would need a layer of veneer.  Once again this is something that I have never tried and it would be a very very tricky shape to get around and also look good.


Lots of food for thought and you can see why my builds take forever     I'm learning as I go


Mark

[KNO3]

Hi Mark, I have discovered your thread only today. Any progress?

You did a wonderful job on the steam plant and on the hull, I really like it. All the planking reminds me of building my tug, which is much smaller though. I used full length planks as well, except on the bottom of the hull, where I resorted to diagonal planking. This was I was able to get everything covered nicely, while minimising the need to shape the ends in difficult shapes.
Anyway, with your beautiful planking, I suggest you keep the wood visible, it would be a shame to cover it with paint.  I did this on my tug too and didn't regret it, although it is not necessarily prototypical. --> http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11688.0.html

[Mark T]

Hi KNO3 thanks for the link to your build its simply amazing what a lovely job 


I've had a much needed break from building, which has resulted in some really nice family and general chilling time.  I love boat building but quite often feel the need to step away for a while whilst I recharge my batteries and do something completely different.


Having said that I started building again this weekend and loved every minute of it.  I have been popping in and out of the forum just to see what others have been doing but not really contributing.


Well thats about to change as I'm back in building mode and I'll have some decent updates on this build quite soon 

[KNO3]

Well, it's good to hear you're back in business! I completely understand the need to take breaks. I work on my steam engines very only every now and then, when I feel like it. After all it is a hobby and it should be fun, not degenerate into work

[Mark T]

Hi All


Well after quite a long and much needed break, I've been back on the Anteo and the enjoyment has returned     Its funny really now that I'm back building I really have missed it.  So where was I on the build.......Oh yes I had just finished planking around the prop tube on one side and needed to do the other side.


Well what a fool I was; never ever stop building at such an awkward point.  For the life of me, even after looking back at my pictures I couldn't remember exactly how I did it     A hard lesson was learnt here as I needed the sides to be absolutely identical, so a job that should have been a bit difficult turned into one that was extremely difficult.  I got it sorted in the end and its near identical enough for me.








Next I started moving forward towards the bow and I used the marks that I had previously put on the frames as a guide.  Its funny as I have noticed that I do not sand any planks at all any more.  I use my little plane which is quick and makes less mess.  It wasn't an intentional change it just seems to have happened but it works very well for me











Do you think I use enough clamps     I've actually found that I'm using less glue on tighter fitting joints now, and its been nice using my home made clamps too













Now that I've got this far I decided to concentrate on the starboard side as I'm not worried about distorting the hull anymore.  Its nice and straight and nearly complete.  So moving down the starboard side I like to put the planks in in groups of three.  I'm sorry about the dark pictures I'm not sure what I did wrong taking these pictures








So its been loads of plank tapering and fitting and I've been loving it.  I'll get some more pictures up tomorrow of where I'm up too.


Thanks for looking and sorry its been so long being updated - Mark 

[SteamboatPhil]

That really is a nice piece of planking, keep up the good work, I will of course keep following you build thread 

[Jerry C]

Nice work Mark, proper job. Will be heading back your way again in May. Reverse of 2018 cruise so in Dudley area late May early June probably. Must meet up this time.
Jerry.

[Mark T]

Hi Phil and Jerry its nice to hear from you both and thanks for the comments; and yes Jerry lets meet up next year 


Ok so there are only two planks left to install on the starboard side to close the hull up on that side.  To work out the width of the planks I use proportional dividers; in fact I use these quite a lot now as it saves having to do so many calculations on my white board.  I've not used ticker tape here to allow for the curve of the frame as its almost a straight line between the planks.





I then put all of the measurements onto a plank and cut it to shape.  Here's a really good technique that I learnt from the web to put a lateral bend into a plank.  Simply use three clamps on a board to set the bend and then heat it up.  Once cooled down it maintains the lateral bend which allows the planks to sit flat on the frames which stops any clinkering.  I wish that I had known this when I had started my planking and its saves spilling the plank too 





To get the final plank shape which obviously needs to be a very close fit, I used masking tape.  Simply stretch it over the gap and use your finger nail to mark the lines onto the tape.  The place the tape onto the plank and there you have it - the perfect shape that just needs a little fettling to fit properly.





I then used pins to hold this last plank in place





If you look closely at the brass clamp you can see that I had to use a half stealer to close the gap in the stern








Ans then for the first time really you can see the correct shape of the hull.  Its a bit rough looking as it needs sanding and some filling but its not too bad.  I very pleased the way the planking has fitted in the rabbet at the stern.














A few more pictures











Thats it for now I need to close up the port side next which will take a little while.  I think its coming out ok so far and I'm pretty much learning as I'm going along - Mark 

[Martin (Admin)]

Looking Good Mark!

 Not tried that heating method!   

[KNO3]

Very nice planking work, congratulations! Being so beautiful, I wouldn't paint the hull, I'd just clearcoat it with epoxy to have the planking visible.

[Baldrick]

   Very nice work Mike . Planking a hull is a real challenge especially to get it as good. But as KNO3 says what are your thoughts about finishing ?  OK fibreglass and epoxy over the whole of the interior to waterproof the hull but externally ? 

[Mark T]

Hi lads thanks for the comments     I have got some ideas but Im not sure if I'm capable of doing what I would like to do.  This is only the first layer of planks so I've used this layer to learn and practice as much as I can for the final layer.


I've got some nice pieces of boxwood, pear and mahogany and I would like to cut some planks from these and then use all three woods on the hull. 
I'm thinking about using the light boxwood to mark out the water line and then use pear below this and mahogany above.  Now this is what I would like to do but I've never done it before so I'm not sure how it will pan out or even if its possible for me personally to do.  My thinking is that I'll give it a good go and if it doesn't look right I'll just paint the hull rather than using a clear coat to display the wood.  I'm sure I'll need loads of help and advice but hey I know where to come for that 


Martin - this technique of bending laterally works really well and I would recommend it to anyone to give it a go.  Here's a bit of a better explanation of how its done.


Here is how the plank naturally wants to lie when placed on the hull.  You can see that it runs away from the planks above at the stem.  It can be forced into place but if you do this it will not sit flat on the bulkheads and cause clinkering.





So what I do is mark the beginning of where I want the bend to start and also mark roughly where the middle of the bend will be.





I then use these marks to clamp the plank to a board and put a bend in it just roughly to what I think it should be.  I really need to make myself a decent jig for this but I've been to lazy so far to make one 





Apply some heat - I use a heat gun simply because I've got one but I've also used my wife's hairdryer and that worked just as well





After its cooled try it for a fit on the hull and repeat as necessary until you get the desired bend.  Here's the plank after a couple of goes on the hull and you can see how now it naturally lays up to the planks above





Then do the same towards the stern and you end up with a plank which looks something like this.  The only other way to achieve this as far as I know would be to spile it which takes a lot longer and wastes a lot of timber too.





Then fit and glue it, and you get a nice plank like this one which follows the shape of the hull and is a tight fit on the plank above it.  More importantly though is there are no built up stresses in the wood - its laying exactly the way it wants too.





I have to stress that this is not my idea; I've simply robbed, stolen, pinched sorry borrowed someone else's expertise.  Well why reinvent the wheel!  Anyway I hope this helps someone.


Mark