needing help on planking

[steven]

I got the Occre Albatross, started the second planking yesterday Got about 1/2 done using contact cement.
Today I went to check my work, only to find air bubbles, slits and cracked wood. UGH. I realized that this is unacceptable to me and i have to do it over again.
I have laid about 5 thousand square feet of Formica, or so it seems, so I know when the glue is ready, and how to apply it.
Any ideas as to what caused it?
Also, my gut feeling is to replace with thicker wood.
Thoughts please,
Steven

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

show me a picture

 

[bandido]

I got the Occre Albatross, started the second planking yesterday Got about 1/2 done using contact cement.
Today I went to check my work, only to find air bubbles, slits and cracked wood. UGH. I realized that this is unacceptable to me and i have to do it over again.
I have laid about 5 thousand square feet of Formica, or so it seems, so I know when the glue is ready, and how to apply it.
Any ideas as to what caused it?
Also, my gut feeling is to replace with thicker wood.
Thoughts please,
Steven

I am working on the La Soleil Royal and The second planking is .5mm I decided to purchase planking 1mm thick I feel it will be much more friendly to lay Your problem is what I was afraid of with that thin paper thick wood!!

 

[J Merton]

Ship planking is not plastic laminate. Contact cement can be very unforgiving as it is nearly impossible to reposition. Edge banding on cabinets often fails; this is thin strips like planking. It is not suitable in the same way that PVC glue is the wrong answer. Every adhesive has its place.
Also: (Among numerous verification sources) https://www.homequestionsanswered.com/what-is-contact-cement.htm
"This adhesive can be susceptible to deterioration and it is not effective when a ... bond is required for a long period of time."

Please do not use this knowledge to fashion scale models of conflict vessels. Please build models that represent joy and production, not fear and destruction. Please do not show war implements to children.

 

[danielsje]

Hmmm…sometimes the moisture in the wood strips will cause this problem when the strip either dries or retains humidity and expands or contracts. I know many like using contact cement as you did. In my experience I get better results using CA gel. Place drops of CA gel on the contact points, place and hold for a ten to fifteen count depending on the relative humidity of your work area and the moisture content of the wood. Reminder that it is moisture that sets CA. I have never experienced bubbling or lifting of planking strips using CA gel…especially the thin .05 walnut planking strips that are common for second planking. Just an alternative idea from my experience.

 

[steven]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies, The instruction book says to use the contact cement'
I know with wood if something can go wrong it probably will.
Occre is sending me new planking, but I think I will use thicker wood.
Thanks again,
Steven B.

 

[Short John Bronze]

Thanks for the warning. I was about to start second planking on the Phoenix using contact adhesive for the first time. On previous models I have always used pva with lots of distributed clamping. I shall proceed with caution or revert to plan A. The second planking is pretty thin stuff. As it uses the Master Korabel practice of providing shaped planks it would be a bit of a disaster if any get destroyed.

 

[DPTrainer]

I have started the second layer of planking on my Amati Riva Aquarama. It is the first time that I have built a planked model but having looked at some previous methods I have adopted the following method which seems to be working well. Following Ken's advice from building a similar model I have purchased off Ebay some BLUNT needles and syringes which are quite cheap. The needles allow you to carefully control the amount of glue applied and allow you to get into the tight gaps. I first of all glue the bow end with CA glue for a length of about 2" and let the CA go off. Using the syringe filled with Aliphatic glue I then apply a thin bead of this glue for the rest of the length of the plank onto the hull. The needle lets you get glue very close to where the plank is already fixed with the CA glue. Because of the curvature of the hull I have found that the plank will make a tight fit the the preceding plank. I then press it down wiping excess glue away and apply wide masking tape to keep the plank firmly in place and give it time to set fairly hard. I didn't want to use nails as shown in the instructions because I didn't want holes showing when the planks are finally finished with varnish. As Ken suggested if the CA glue needle gets blocked just burn off the blockage with a lighter.

 

[Bob Ellis]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies, The instruction book says to use the contact cement'
I know with wood if something can go wrong it probably will.
Occre is sending me new planking, but I think I will use thicker wood.
Thanks again,
Steven B.

You're right Steven, go for the thicker planking. To avoid buckling at the stem the planks need to be laterally bent, virtually impossible with the half a mm stuff!