Plank bender

[Mike Y]

I have used a plank bender just like your photo but that seems a high price. I’d advise you to “shop around” a bit.

 

[CPDDET]

Of course one should always price shop. The Pic I posted was for clarification of type and no more than that.

 

[Ismaele]

I agree that the sandpaper tool is useless. Instead, the strip bender is indispensable. I usually soak the strips in water for a few minutes, using a milk bottle that has the right size and a wide mouth. Generally, this makes it easier to bend the wood, reduces the possibility of breakages and I understand that the strip is ready when it is dry.

 

[Marty van]

A lot of good information in this thread. Thanks to all for sharing

 

[Stuart Little]

Plank bender, yes, I have it and use it always, take care of your fingers, its get hot.
Mini belt sander, I have two different, seldom uses it.
Even the Proxxon I think takes off to much. I use a sandpaper file instead.
Have used the mini belt sander on Bohuslän, 95 cm lenght and planking 2 mm thick, so on really large ships with simple lines I like it.

Good advice, I've just had a 'brain fade', with mine, wanting a bit more pressure, I pressed on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OWWWWWWWWWWW!! Finger straight into flour - best 'cure' for a burn, it takes the pain away in minutes, NO COLD WATER! Why would you want to sand your fingers?

 

[Chelseafan]

Concur with all the above. You definitely don't want that sander unless you're doing 1:1 shipbuilding.

I made my own plank bender by drilling and tapping a slice of round bar stock that screws on to the end of an old soldering iron I got from my Dad. I turned in on a lathe to smooth the surface, but I don't think it's completely necessary as long as you sand off any surface rust and oil quench it to prevent future rust.

Definitely no use for a power sander. Far too indiscriminate.
For planking, I would thoroughly recommend Chuck Pasarro's YouTube trio showing the technique he uses. No soldering irons just careful shaping of the plank using curved templates then using a travel iron to gently steam in the curve.
I am building the Confederacy and as it's a single plank design you don't get the luxury of a lot of sanding and filling. It's only my third ship build but I found Chuck's system really easy to use and it yielded a result even Chuck was impressed with....praise indeed.!
See attached. Planks are 1/8 by 1/16th strips so minimal tapering and easy forming. Attention to the fairing is crucial but the planks lay on without forcing in any way; no clamps requried. Slightly chamfer the edges and they fit quite tight. This ship has about fifty a side so it's time consuming but I think you'll agree that it is a very good method.

 

[seadeep]

I just purchased this for plank bending.
I like having the different shaped heads.
View attachment 488657

A bit pricey for this version with all the various tips, most of which I can't see a need for as you'd already have a small hobby knife and a screwdriver. But the basic version isn't too expensive.... and if you have a friend that does welding, you could very likely fabricate your own custom tip that provides an ogee curve shape to facilitate nice smooth plank bends. If I didn't already own an electric plank bender, I think this one would be what I would try to lay hands on. I particularly like that it has three heat settings to choose from.

Humorous and somewhat related aside: When I was looking at the various listings on Amazon and reading reviews, I found one where the person was warning people never to buy it because of the burn risk (they seriously fried the tip of their finger when they didn't hold it properly and their finger touched the hot shaft below the plastic guard). This may be the same person that's behind McDonald's no longer being able to sell hot coffee. lol As much as I'm sure it was painful at the time, it's simply a matter of being careful with the tools we use. Their suggestion to avoid the product makes about as much sense as saying to avoid a decent chef's knife because you could cut yourself if you're not careful.

 

[Bob Cleek]

I just purchased this for plank bending.
I like having the different shaped heads.
View attachment 488657

Looks like a very handy tool. Could you provide a link to where it might be purchased?

 

[seadeep]

Looks like a very handy tool. Could you provide a link to where it might be purchased?

Just go on Amazon and search by that product description... you'll find lots of listings for it, some the basic tool, and others with the variety of extra tips.

 

[Ulises]

I'm a bit of a tightwad so instead of purchasing a plank bender, I bought a used hair curling iron at a Thrift Store for about $3.00. I made the bending form out of 2 pieces of wood (poplar) after studying various images of plank benders on the Internet. It performed very well for me for planking the Polaris. The trick is to take your time bending the plank into the shape you want. Rush it and the plank will break.

View attachment 488260

That is exactly what I use, and works wonders!!

 

[Peter Gutterman]

So don't don't hold it underwater not even for 30 seconds ?

If I'm bending basswood strip, just dunking the strip in room temp water is sufficient for most model thickness planks. If it dries out before you are satisfied, just wet it again. As long as you keep the plank wet you can shape and reshape it as often as you like.

 

[Philski]

My adventure with bending wood was making hand nets for flyfishing. So...on to ship building and since I already had the steamer, why not give it a go? I looked at drawings and wanted to bend strips to near exact shape and made a clamping jig to hold several strips at the same time. It works wonderfully. Another tactic was bending one strip at a time using a pin board to hold the strip to shape while it cools and dries. It too works well. I do have the bending tool which is basically a soldering iron with a large, round tip (and the little wooden anvil).

 

[Capt. Iglo]

Seeing the prices asked for plank-benders, I might suggest my solution: The soldering station from Parkside/LIDL 0 currently € 20.-
I simply removed the soldering tip, and use the heat element. The big advantage is, that you can adjust the temperature by steps of 10 deg C., depending on the type of wood you use - to avoid wood-burn e.d..
EU delivery is not a problem, through the LIDL websites; for USA/Canada i am not sure, but someone else may know......
see the pictures

 

[Anthony53]

Even something like this from Amazon ?

 

[Ian Wilson]

Anthony, I was having the same concerns about plank bending a couple of years ago. I ended up making my own steam box. I used some materials that were lying around in my wirkshop. I posted what I did to Ships of scale. If you search for Ian Wilson DIY Steam box bending wood my post was on Jan 21, 2022.
I used this very sucessfully and if you decid to follow my lead It should save you money, time, and worries its a proven method and easily made tool Best of luck from Inverkip in Scotland.

 

[Stuart Little]

Hi all another 2 questions again is it worth getting a plank bending tool and a mini finger sander ?

View attachment 488114

View attachment 488115

I have the Proxxon belt sander, 10mm wide abrasive. It does have it's uses at times, but mainly 'rough sanding', & other projects,but DEFINITELY not of hull finishing.

 

[Namabiiru]

I took the replaceable heads from an old electric toothbrush and cut off the bristles. Then I used CA glue to attach short lengths of dowels to the toothbrush heads and then glued small disks of sandpaper to the end of the dowels. Different heads have different grits, but nothing more course than 140. Now I use the toothbrush to sand in tight spots that are hard to do by hand.

 

[Philski]

I took the replaceable heads from an old electric toothbrush and cut off the bristles. Then I used CA glue to attach short lengths of dowels to the toothbrush heads and then glued small disks of sandpaper to the end of the dowels. Different heads have different grits, but nothing more course than 140. Now I use the toothbrush to sand in tight spots that are hard to do by hand.

Great idea!

 

[AllanKP69]

Attention to the fairing is crucial

Totally agree with your entire post. Don't forget that the wales taper in thickness at the bow so they seat in the rabbet same as the other planking.
Allan

 

[Smithy]

Totally agree with your entire post. Don't forget that the wales taper in thickness at the bow so they seat in the rabbet same as the other planking.
Allan

Really? I hadn’t realised that. Useful to know, thanks.