planking

[Adrian HemmingsParticipant @adrianhemmings]

i am building the s.s great eastern scale 1: 200 length 1060 mm , width 190 mm and height 340 mm . could anyone tell me the best timber to use for planking the hull and decking ? . which is the best thickness of timber ? , i was thinking about using 0.5 mm thickness for the decking because mainy flat areas .but the hull will need bending planks around the stern end areas in particular . look forward to hearing from anyone .thanks ade

[Adrian HemmingsParticipant @adrianhemmings]

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

HI Ade

I used the 3mm Ikea wooden strips which are 25mm wide.

Steams and bends very well, like using balsa, but, stronger.

These are easily cut into narrow strips for tight places.

Harry Smith

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ade,

My preference for planking is 1/8" or 3/16" balsa so you have some scope for sanding it down to get a good shape, I also use balsa cement as it sets quickly and sands well, Then light grade glass cloth and epoxy resin for strength.

1/32" ply for decks is fine in my experience.

There are plenty of examples of this technique in my album "Ray's Boats"

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Not that I am one for planking but if you are covering the hull in glass fibre and resin then Ray seems to have it. Balsa easy to fix and sand.

Ashley

[John W EParticipant @johnwe]

V Duberg/Troyberg.

Edited By John W E on 28/11/2018 18:38:31

[John W EParticipant @johnwe]

Hi there Ade as has been mentioned – there are numerous materials which can be used to plank a model. It boils down to your own preference as to what you can work with that suits you. One of the favourite materials used by people in the 'olden days' is Obechi and – its still used today – it is slightly tougher than balsa wood – it sands and works easily though. There is also lime wood which is used for planking – a finer grain and slightly harder than Obechi and balsa wood. Tend to pre-drill it if you are going to nail it – and then, we come on to the hard timbers such as Mahogany and I have known ash and oak to be used in models. These can be a very difficult timber to work with in small scales. Personally, I tend to work with Obechi and/or lime for building hulls. I did a build for the MV Troyberg / Duberg where I double planked the hull and this was following the procedure of planking that the magazine who did the Titanic/Bismark/Hood builds where they used a very short plank which was obviously to accommodate what could be put through a letterbox, and they did it in two layers on the hull.

I followed this but only deviated where they jointed all their planks on one frame – but I staggered my planks similar to brickwork in a wall to increase the strength.

If you have a look at my albums – you will see pics of the build for the M

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