I was wrong again! Thin second planking harder than first...

Yeah…you are right. It also depends on type of wood being used…hard woods tend to be hard to bend. :) Your frustration is one that we all share…
 
1. Before you bend anything, you might try soaking the wood in water (hot or cold) for about 60 minutes. You only have to soak the area that will be bent. I use an old plastic pill bottle for soaking when I only have to bend the end of a plank.
2. You will probably be able to bend just about anything with your hands using this technique.
3. Clamp the wood to any 'jig-creation' that will produce a bend close to what you need and let the wood dry over night; the jig bend does not have to be perfect. I have used a door knob, a random pile of scrap wood, a jig-saw table, etc. for this clamping. I clamp everything with Harbor Freight's plastic squeeze clamps.
4. The next day the wood will be 'kind of dry'. Final fit this 'kind-of dry' wood to your model. Use your hands to put in any final fit bends as necessary.
Do any sanding, carving, trimming, edge bevelling, coloring for caulking, etc at this stage. The damp portion of the plank wood will be just a tad larger than it was when it was totally dry. You can make the fit of the damp area a little tighter than normal to compensate. If you are installing a plank between two other planks (filling a hole), you can use a small hammer to pound the new damp plank in to make sure it is really seated tight against the frame (makes a great tight fit). Let everything dry for a day or two.
5. Check your work from the previous day (correct as necessary). Glue the plank on using CYA. Drill holes and put the dowels in. Sand and/or file smooth as necessary. Works every time.
 
I know your pain, I thought this would be the case in my Roter Lowe build, but I found that it really all depends on the lay of the hull. The wood wants what the wood wants and while you can maybe nudge a thin plank a bit, in the end it tells you how it needs to be trimmed.
 
If after reading this you need anything explained please reach out. Its very easy if you cut the curve into the plank before attempting to bend it but that means you need some wider planks. With standard width planks thats not possible.
 
I’m finding that too. The first layer was a challenge - but I got there in the end. However, the second layer of planks (0.6 mm sapele) have a habit of twisting out/lifting up at the bottom edges when curved around the hull - they won’t lie flat against it. What am I doing wrong? Too little glue (insufficient coverage?), the wrong type of glue (I’ve used PVA, but should I have used contact/cobblers?) or was the faring of the frames not right?

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Rcflyer said:
I would have bet the farm that a .5mm thick plank would bend / lay easier than 1mm plank.
good thing I'm not a gambler...
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I made the decision to do the second planking with 1mm black walnut rather than the .5 strips on my Le Soleil Royal and I am glad I did!! For me it was easier controlling the bend, beveling the planks at the hull contours just easier to handle!! and had more thickness to the plank for finish sanding when the planking was complete.
 
I have found that veneers are far less forgiving and after my first ship I will no longer use them preferring to take care with the first layer of planks. Colour (if required) can always be added later with a stain.
 
The thing I like about double plank ships is the first planking is your Preparation layer the layer where you learn how to plank your hull on your ship the second layer is just a repeat of the first with some adjustments in areas where you had issues with the first layer it also gives you a smooth surface and contour to apply your second planking.
 
bandido said:
gives you a smooth surface and contour
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not only this
- a second and in my opinion also very important advantage is, that you have over the full length of the second layer plank the possibility to apply glue and not only at the area of the bulkheads
 
bill36 said:
1. Before you bend anything, you might try soaking the wood in water (hot or cold) for about 60 minutes. You only have to soak the area that will be bent. I use an old plastic pill bottle for soaking when I only have to bend the end of a plank.
2. You will probably be able to bend just about anything with your hands using this technique.
3. Clamp the wood to any 'jig-creation' that will produce a bend close to what you need and let the wood dry over night; the jig bend does not have to be perfect. I have used a door knob, a random pile of scrap wood, a jig-saw table, etc. for this clamping. I clamp everything with Harbor Freight's plastic squeeze clamps.
4. The next day the wood will be 'kind of dry'. Final fit this 'kind-of dry' wood to your model. Use your hands to put in any final fit bends as necessary.
Do any sanding, carving, trimming, edge bevelling, coloring for caulking, etc at this stage. The damp portion of the plank wood will be just a tad larger than it was when it was totally dry. You can make the fit of the damp area a little tighter than normal to compensate. If you are installing a plank between two other planks (filling a hole), you can use a small hammer to pound the new damp plank in to make sure it is really seated tight against the frame (makes a great tight fit). Let everything dry for a day or two.
5. Check your work from the previous day (correct as necessary). Glue the plank on using CYA. Drill holes and put the dowels in. Sand and/or file smooth as necessary. Works every time.
Click to expand...
Hallo @bill36
We wish you all the best and a happy Birthday
 
On just about any ship hull the curves decide the width of the planks. If you're having trouble with the edges lifting then try narrower planks. Try cutting the planks you have in half lengthwise. Takes a bit more time to do this but it will work.
 
Uwek said:
not only this
- a second and in my opinion also very important advantage is, that you have over the full length of the second layer plank the possibility to apply glue and not only at the area of the bulkheads
Click to expand...
On my Le Soleil build it came with .5mm second planking I decided after testing a couple .5 planks that I would order 1mm Planking for the second finish plank and it works much better for me, Easier to control, just soak the planks in hot water or steam and they bend easy, and I had double the thickness to block sand to a smooth finish.
 
There are many books on ship planking, and they all basically say the same thing! spend time planning your planking of your hull, divide the hull into smaller areas on my ship it was 4 or 5 planks, most planks taper towards the bow using a small area at a time it is more manageable on preparing the planks for the area you are working on also lay the whole hull out into those smaller strips it will bring out problem areas before you get there so you can plan ahead like i said there are many books on the subject
 
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Kevink said:
I dont know of you have looked at my videos but i do have a series on planking the HMS Thorn that you might find useful
kevin

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do not forget to mention your interesting building log including the videos

HMS Thorn. Scratch build Swan class following the books written by David Antscherl and Greg Herbert

I have been asked to start a build log and have agreed . The first 35 videos are located in Vimeo, the rest are located on both Vimeo and YouTube. Vimeo log starts with the first in the series YouTube starts at video #34 The current build is # 74 The video log records my journey and...
shipsofscale.com
 
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