Treenailing the planks.

Bryian

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Hi gang,
rather than search through multiple build logs, I was hoping you can steer me in the right direction for tree nailing please . I have done treenails with bamboo drawn through the Byrnes plate and the other method of pushing an awl into the planks and filling the hole with putty.

Any input would be grateful.
 
Also Brian you can use wooden tooth picks ,much better than balsa also you can soak them in any stain depend what color you want for the treenails.
 
I like the tooth pick tree nailing the most. I use beech for these instead of bamboo as these are easier to cut after fitting and dont spline. With tooth picks you can even first colour the outside black before fitting to get a real look.
I dont know why a lot of people use brass instead, this as brass wasn't used in the original as well and it is much more difficult to sand down either.
See below the result on my RC with beech tooth picks ( cocktail pins as we call them)
20170914_205008.jpg
20171203_111512.jpg
And real treenails in my anchor.
20171203_135721.jpg
And vasa
20180510_112858.jpg
 
Hi mates! I am planning to do an observation in my Charles Royal Yacht building log how I do treenails. In short, I use Pearwood and Byrnes drawplate.
 
I am usually doing this, just drilling the right size holes and then filling them up with a mixture of diluted glue, fine sawdust and a few drops of paint if necessary. Az I am doing 'real' treenailing as well, I can appreciate the difference in time and effort. And the result is nearly the same (you don't want to use a microscope to clarify). And don't tell anyone!
Janos
 
Greetings Janos, There are many ways to make treenails looking good. Sometimes scale dictates one technique over another. In a super small scale, where trenail s are 0.3mmø the effort is not worth to try. I like to use your method on somewhat small-scale. Instead of using sawdust with diluted glue, I use Elmer's wood filler or other brand filler. Also, I use a super-sharp black pencil to mark predrilled holes, then cover with filler.
 
Brian,
On the Hornbeam there mix (some wood treenails some wood filler) Holy and Pearwood actual wooden treenails, They are 0.49 ~ 0.5mmø. I like to match the treenails with the same type of wood as a deck.

IMG_2310_1.jpeg IMG_2158.jpeg


- drill the holes for all of the treenails following the pattern shown on the plans.
- sand the area smooth
- use a sharp awl and gently insert into each. Don't push it too hard or you will distort the hole shape.
- take a very sharp #2 pencil. Insert point into each hole and twist lightly. You must keep a sharp point and sharpen the pencil every ten or so holes.
- then fill each hole with Elmer's wood filler. Scrape off excess with a piece of wood.
- Sand it smooth to get a nice surface. (see below)

WoodFiller_trenails.JPG

Hope this will help
 
Last edited:
- drill the holes for all of the treenails following the pattern shown on the plans.
- sand the area smooth
- use a sharp awl and gently insert into each. Don't push it too hard or you will distort the hole shape.
- take a very sharp #2 pencil. Insert point into each hole and twist lightly. You must keep a sharp point and sharpen the pencil every ten or so holes.
- then fill each hole with Elmer's wood filler. Scrape off excess with a piece of wood.
- Sand it smooth to get a nice surface. (see below)

G'day Jim
That's one brilliant method and detailed discretion of creation an authentic treenails......
Thanks for sharing mate.
Happymodeling
Greg
 
A very interesting discussion started here and I guess there is so much to share.
@Maarten mentioned that some modelers are using brass nails.

In general we should devide the use of treenails also into the area, where at the boat / ship the treenails and / or bolts are / were used!

We have at our models f.e.
1) the structural connections with nails and bolts at frames (futtocks, chocks, floor timbers etc.), knees at the beams, scarves at the keel elements, riders etc.
2) nails and bolts of the hull planking
3) nails of deck planking (here devide with or without capping)

In addition we have also to have a look at which Navy and in which time the ship was sailing.

1) a lot of these connections were done with copper or iron bolts, sometimes these were up to 2m long
Take a look at the USS Constitution
https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2016/02/17/bolt/
2-34535001.jpg

I am at work now, but as I remember from the Boudriot books of the 74-gun ship, the french had appr. 70 tons of iron, brass or copper bolts installed in such a ship. I will try to make a photo of an example asap

But also wooden nails were used for structural connections

2) The outside hull planks of most of the french ships were connected to the framing with 50% metalic bolts and 50% wooden treenails, the british as I know were using only wooden treenail connection - so also here, and a lot of the french modelers are using brass wire to show the nailing.

Here some photos from Rochefort of french built models showing this
IMG_06041.JPG IMG_07381.JPG

IMG_08371.JPG IMG_03371.JPG

The french likes very much the brass nails, also sometimes on decks
 
Just to be clear, Janos. You will leave it like this intentionally or do you have plans to cover the holes?
 
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