Plank benders

Joined
Sep 28, 2020
Messages
22
Points
58

Location
Scotland, Not Great Britain or the UK
Hi,
It won't be long until I'll be starting to plank my Santisima Trinidad and what I've noticed is that unlike my two previous builds the planking on this one is thick, so I was wondering what you guys would advise as to which bender would give the best results.

Cheers
IanG
 
I have had moderate success soaking the plank in water for about 10 minutes then using a soldering iron and bending the plank along the iron. Just don't go too quickly that is the trick. I know there is a tool called a plank bender that you can buy but, well put it this way, I have bought two of those within the span of 1 year and they didn't last.
 
Most on line model ship hobby shops sell this jig. I leave my wood to set up for a day before removing it.

..
My own understanding that whether using steam (heat) or hot water that actually cools down the time in the steam or water depends upon the thickness of the wood. I don't have the ratio for bending full size wood at hand but it can be found on line and applied to our own planks and beams that need some bending. PT-2
 
I must be unlucky because both of my plank benders burnt out within a period of 1 year. That is why I went the soldering iron route.
After three or four months me electric bender is still working. I use it in one hand passing it back and forth over the plank section that I am bending with a slow pressure to the curve that I want. A setting jig would be more precise but I haven't had that need yet . . . it is pending though I know. PT-2
 
soak in hot water then a old electric curling ion mounted length ways in a hobby vise. Works well on lime wood, Walnut & Sapelli ( Mahogany). I just rub back and forth till I get the desired bend. for hardwood, the longer you soak the better.
 
I just happened to find out how far with my trusted old soldering iron type bender I can go. I made a few smaller diameter heads to it and with these I can bend European Boxwood strips to about 10 mm diameter. I needed these pieces for the LSR decorations but it can be used for other purposes also beyond planking - mast hoops and so on.
János
 
My first attempt as a “novice“ builder was to cut out a template of the curve required for the planks, soak the planks overnight and then let them dry clamped to the cut out form. Since I really didn’t know what I was doing it worked for me.

7D7A4B1E-59BD-4CB3-A836-92DC1BAF88C3.jpeg

Recently I graduated to this tool.

C784E231-0863-43FE-A969-CD9B019F7EBD.jpeg

I had to adapt it to USA voltage and after a bit of a learning curve find it does quite the job. It’s sold by Kolderstok.

Jan
 
Back
Top