Here I’m bending 2 #12 Strakes on the Plank Bender so that I can get more of a gradual bend.
Also, I didn’t bother to taper the after party. I’m leaving that until the end to be able to adjust the ticknesses of the final upper band Planks.
Bending 1 Each Port and Starboard #12 Planks
On the Strakes… As they come to the back, under the Transom. Well, I found out the hard way to not cut the excess off until the glue sets. The reason being, the excess gives your Clamp something to grab on to.
Leave excess on until glue sets
Well, the bow section of #12 Starboard side went in… But only just. The limit on the pressure was definitely there.
I had to use some Superglue interspersed with the Titebond for this one. They kind of got mixed together and it became a bit gooey.
#12 Starboard side got a bit gooey 🙄
I’m pretty happy with how all the Strakes ended up at just about where the Batten was. I almost hit it right on the nose! ðŸ¤ðŸ¤£
Pencil marks were where we’re supposed to end up… Close enough!
Going in to #10 Strake, which is a little bit under 1/2 of the way done, I just realized something which I want to write down before I forget about it.
I’ve read a few different sources and watched a few different videos about Planking… And really, the only real constant is the fact there are as many different ways to do this Planking as there are Model Makers out there.
You can’t really throw a criticism out there at somebody’s work and judge the work as being right or wrong. Well, you can, but most people are going to judge your work simply from the perspective of the finished product and they really can’t appreciate the work that you spent in making the Model because they’ve never actually done it.
So, as I make this turn into #10, I realize now that it’s always right around at this point where I get into a lot of self doubt about whether I’m doing it right or wrong.
I’ve been doing a lot of measuring and calculating and it landed right at around 11.6 Planks… So I’m at 10 right now so I figure that I’ll round up, although the Planks are beginning to become a bit tight and I realize that I can only bend them just so far.
#10 Strake being glued in
Something interesting I just noticed.
Well… I put the 2 Planks in the Jig last night and went to sleep. When I woke up, they were completely dried and took to the form pretty hard.
I noticed that it has this springy quality, that it actually helps in the gluing process. Because it has a self-clamping quality about it.
This Plank just came out of the Jig
I guess you guys have already figured out that i don’t like the Plank Bender process. I just think that it’s too much of a short cut. I mean, I have one, but I’ll only use it in the most desperate situations.
Just thinking to myself that I think I’m going to hit it perfectly at 12 Strakes for the upper band. Hmmm… 🤔🙄
The Strakes are curving around nicely around the Bow.
I was afraid that I was going to run out of space but I think it’s all going to fit together nicely. I may need a Stealer but I’m not sure yet.
#9 Port Side gluing in
Just doing the Starboard side of #9 and I was thinking to myself that the Batten was right at around 11 – 12 Plank’s worth of Planks on the biggest Bulkhead which was the #9 Bulkhead. It actually landed on 11.6 Plank Widths… So figured I would round up for comfort’s sake.
To be honest, this whole time I was planking, I thought that I was going to run out of space.
The cardinal rule in Planking is to apparently not cut your Plank to any smaller than 1/2 if your original Plank. What is frowned on is for a Plank to come up to the Bow in a Point. The reason being, there was no way to secure a pointed piece of Timber.
I probably should do a Post on some rules on Planking.
This Strake seems to be needing some bending. What I ended up doing was to go ahead and glue the forward part and to let it set. Then, I’ll go ahead and twist it on around to the Stern.
I imagine that if I was doing shorter Plank sections and doing Butt Joints instead of a continuous Strake, things would go differently.
#7 Strake Starboard side gluing forward part
I kind of goofed on the Starboard side. I ended up clamping it too hard and it caved in the bottom part of #7. I’m not worried about it… I’ll just fix it with some Putty.
So I ended up screwing up once again and bent the Planks in the wrong direction!!!
So now, I’m having to wait for the other pre-soaked Planks to bend.
I’m still getting Splintering though… Even with Ammonia. I may leave it in a bit longer than 1 hour next time.
Splintering… Very annoying 🤔😤#3 Strake Starboard sideStrake #4 Starboard side
I’m kind of annoyed at myself for not taking in the edges of the Planks as it makes the turn… I forgot to do it. It’s really kind of minor but it’s something that “should” be done… Hmmm
From Planking Techniques for Model Ship Builders by Donald Dressel
I went and messed up with the bending of the #3 Strake on the Starboard side.
I had to use that Strake on the Port side, so therefore I’m doubling up on the Starboard side Strakes 3 & 4.
Here I’m bending the next 2 and have the #4 Strake being glued into the Port side…
All I can is to be careful with the bending and make sure you pencil mark each Strake with both the P & S, Forward Arrow, and the Up Arrow to avoid such mistakes. 😲🤔🙄
I’ll update more once I have #3 & #4 on on the Starboard side.
It appears that #4 Strake is landing nicely on the Transom
So far, so good… Although I’m not really happy with the wood that Mamoli gave me in the kit… I guess the consolation is that this is only the inner Plank and an outer Walnut one will go over it.
Port Side 3rd Stake taking bend
Speaking of Wood… I wasn’t very impressed with the Wood for the Bulkhead either. This will probably be the last kit that I buy from this company.
Although their laser cut parts aren’t too bad. But their Instructions are very poor. This is definitely NOT a kit for a beginner!!!
Strake swollen from soaking.
I put a picture of the Strake that I’ve had in the Water for about an hour. Perhaps I’ll go a little less than that because it swelled up really good. It’s probably a good 1 – 1.5mm thicker than it should be!
Port Side gluing in… As you can see, I finally had to resort to using Pins 😲🤔🙄Port Side glued inPlank Bending Jig working on next Plank… #3 Starboard Side
