Ipe wood for hull finish planking?

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Hey guys,

What are your opinions on using ipe (iron) wood for the thin, finish layer of hull planking? Too brittle? I'm looking for a more tight grained, realistic to scale wood for hull planking. Pear wood seems to orange for my taste, so I'm looking for a browner, fine grain wood with grain character more to scale than mahogany. I like walnut, but can't get the lighter brown from Europe. American walnut is very dark, and my usual choice in the past. Ideas? Dave at Lumberyard... you're a wood guy... What would you choose for the sides of HMS Sovereign of the Seas?
 
How about some good old Black Cherry? It’s a brown wood and some of the better heart woods have a nice, tight grain - here is an example of Glenn Barlow’s Pegasus that he finish planked in cherry..... you could also stain some Pear wood - it takes stain very well and would look awesome stained dark Walnut.
Pegasus 6342 2
 
Do you need lumber, billets, or dimensioned strips? Lumber at most any lumber store or cabinet shop. Billets probably online - Woodworkers Supply, Woodcraft.com, woodworkerssource.com. Dimensioned wood - I think The Lumberyard is the only supplier left in USA.... dlumberyard.com - Dave Stevens (Daves) is a member on here, he and his wife own the business.
 
Do you need lumber, billets, or dimensioned strips? Lumber at most any lumber store or cabinet shop. Billets probably online - Woodworkers Supply, Woodcraft.com, woodworkerssource.com. Dimensioned wood - I think The Lumberyard is the only supplier left in USA.... dlumberyard.com - Dave Stevens (Daves) is a member on here, he and his wife own the business.
I was thinking of 0.3mmx4mmx500mm strips. Ideally, they could be a bit thicker. The Chinese sell some on eBay, but on occasion their strips have uneven of rough edges. I am very aware of Dave Stevens. He has a habit of taking large amounts of my money... cuz his stuff is good.
 
Pear wood in general has usually not so orange (or red) touch - it is getting this touch especially when it is steamed.
But Cherry is also a very good alternative and

´this page f.e. is giving a good overview:
 
There is also a guy here on SOS from Russia I think that sells very, very high quality Pear and other hardwoods. His banner is on the home page - Bibigon wood line. I think even after shipping and customs it works out even better than buying in USA but long shipping times also.
 
Do you need lumber, billets, or dimensioned strips? Lumber at most any lumber store or cabinet shop. Billets probably online - Woodworkers Supply, Woodcraft.com, woodworkerssource.com. Dimensioned wood - I think The Lumberyard is the only supplier left in USA.... dlumberyard.com - Dave Stevens (Daves) is a member on here, he and his wife own the business.
I was thinking of 0.3mmx4mmx500mm strips. Ideally, they could be a bit thicker. The Chinese sell some on eBay, but on occasion their strips have uneven edges. I am very aware of Dave Stevens. He has a habit of taking large amounts of my money... his stuff is great. Thumbsup
 
Ipe is one of those exotic hard woods with dust that can (may not, may) cause a very severe allergic reaction, so if you are using it I would suggest commercial-level dust control (vent, mask, eye protection, clean up).
 
there are a couple wood you might want to consider one that comes to mind in Mansonia another is Afromosia both have the look and color of Ipe
Cherry is nice it gets a patina and turns a redish brown color.

i think what you need is a sample set so you can actually see and touch the different woods. i have your address so hold on a few days and i will send you samples.
 
good day
I'm new to model wood ships.
I like the offer Dave Stevens. An experienced ship modeler recommended me to use Sapelli wood. But unfortunately I have not yet applied this wood.
 
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Hey guys,

What are your opinions on using ipe (iron) wood for the thin, finish layer of hull planking? Too brittle? I'm looking for a more tight grained, realistic to scale wood for hull planking. Pear wood seems to orange for my taste, so I'm looking for a browner, fine grain wood with grain character more to scale than mahogany. I like walnut, but can't get the lighter brown from Europe. American walnut is very dark, and my usual choice in the past. Ideas? Dave at Lumberyard... you're a wood guy... What would you choose for the sides of HMS Sovereign of the Seas?
Ipe is good for the deck at your house. Walnut is good for furniture. Both are terrible for the planking on a model ship hull. The best wood for hull planking is box (any variety), Swiss pear, brosimum alicastrum (aka breadnut wood) or perhaps California lemon wood. In all other woods the grain is too coarse and the voids are too large. Forget your tastes and go with the woods that the best builders on the planet use.
 
there are a couple wood you might want to consider one that comes to mind in Mansonia another is Afromosia both have the look and color of Ipe
Cherry is nice it gets a patina and turns a redish brown color.

i think what you need is a sample set so you can actually see and touch the different woods. i have your address so hold on a few days and i will send you samples.
Thanks Dave. Do you have a source for tanganyika for deck planking? I have only seen tanganyika strips for sale in Italian model kits. What do you prefer for deck planking, if not tanganyika?
 
Thanks Dave. Do you have a source for tanganyika for deck planking? I have only seen tanganyika strips for sale in Italian model kits. What do you prefer for deck planking, if not tanganyika?

to begin there is no such wood Tanganyika that is just a made up name like Castello Boxwood these are trade names and applied to different types of wood like Maraciabo boxwood, there is no Maraciabo tree it is a lake in South America so the wood is named after the region where it is lumbered.

the wood your talking about is Anigre which was sold as Tanganyika Walnut and is not even close to actual Walnut not does it even look like walnut actually the wood got its name because it was lumbered between the Lake Tanganyika and the Indian Ocean...

Anigre looks very close to common Cherry i have see both up close and personal and it is hard to tell them apart.

your paying 10 times more for Anigre just because it is lumbered and shipped half way around the world.

Aniegre875xl-2173-xl.jpgblack-cherry4.jpg
 
Thanks Dave. Do you have a source for tanganyika for deck planking? I have only seen tanganyika strips for sale in Italian model kits. What do you prefer for deck planking, if not tanganyika?

to begin there is no such wood Tanganyika that is just a made up name like Castello Boxwood these are trade names and applied to different types of wood like Maraciabo boxwood, there is no Maraciabo tree it is a lake in South America so the wood is named after the region where it is lumbered.

the wood your talking about is Anigre which was sold as Tanganyika Walnut and is not even close to actual Walnut not does it even look like walnut actually the wood got its name because it was lumbered between the Lake Tanganyika and the Indian Ocean...

Anigre looks very close to common Cherry i have see both up close and personal and it is hard to tell them apart.

your paying 10 times more for Anigre just because it is lumbered and shipped half way around the world.

View attachment 220713View attachment 220729
Wow. Dave, that is really important to know. For deck work, I was avoiding cherry because it it too red to start and gets darker with time. The wood used on my last Corel ship was labelled tanganyika (who knows what it was). It was yellowish and light in color, and still had that fine grain with subtle darker grain within it. I like it a lot, and am looking to duplicate it.
 
I read an article some years ago that suggested that apple wood is great for modeling ships. I have a couple of apple trees and am curing some apple wood, but haven't yet tried modeling with it.
 
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