Replicating Deck Treenails

A

Ausierob

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Hi All, I'm new to wooden shipbuilding and enjoying it. First model is the Amati HMS Fly. Just completed laying the deck and now looking for ideas on how to replicate Treenails. Did a search here but didn't find anything that described options and how to, etc. Any links to threads greatly appreciated.
Also any discussions on making a display case?

Many thanks for any assistance.
Cheers,
Rob
 
Hi Rob,
There is a post about making treenails here at SoS posted this past Monday that might be of interest. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/tricks-of-the-trade.15492/page-2#post-410790
Keep in mind that for your scale (I believe you kit is 1:64 scale) the wooden plugs that would be seen are only about 1/2mm in diameter and should be somewhat subtle to avoid appearing as a case of the measles. At this small size many choose to leave them out so you would not be alone if you decide to forgo them. Your choice in the end. :)
Allan
 
You want the model to look like furniture or a ship?

Tren'ls are basically dowel-pins. If you're going for the home furnishing look (varnished wood) you're probably wanting them to contrast sharply with the planking; so use different color wood, brass rod, plastic rod, or whatever in your scale is about as big around as your thump. Drill the holes, put in the rods, and snip 'em off with flush cotters and file/sand to finish.

On a ship (unless it's a yacht, then see above) they're the same wood as the deck and you wont see them unless you're 1:48 scale or bigger, and still not see them unless the light's right..

They can also burnt in with the pointed tip of a soldering iron, but be careful.

You could also paint them on, or use a very fine permanent marker, but then you risk the ink spreading in the wood grain.

See the tren'ls on Victory?
1732497410531.jpeg
 
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AllanKP69 said:
Hi Rob,
There is a post about making treenails here at SoS posted this past Monday that might be of interest. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/tricks-of-the-trade.15492/page-2#post-410790
Keep in mind that for your scale (I believe you kit is 1:64 scale) the wooden plugs that would be seen are only about 1/2mm in diameter and should be somewhat subtle to avoid appearing as a case of the measles. At this small size many choose to leave them out so you would not be alone if you decide to forgo them. Your choice in the end. :)
Allan
Click to expand...
Hi Allan, Your thread is exactly what I was looking for. Don't how I missed it. I get your point about size, I'm just experimenting at the moment, testing before committing. I did some on the wales and liked how it turn out, subtle but there.
Many thanks
Rob
 
JerryTodd said:
You want the model to look like furniture or a ship?

Tren'ls are basically dowel-pins. If you're going for the home furnishing look (varnished wood) you're probably wanting them to contrast sharply with the planking; so use different color wood, brass rod, plastic rod, or whatever in your scale is about as big around as your thump. Drill the holes, put in the rods, and snip 'em off with flush cotters and file/sand to finish.

On a ship (unless it's a yacht, then see above) they're the same wood as the deck and you wont see them unless you're 1:48 scale or bigger, and still not see them unless the light's right..

They can also br burnt in with the pointed tip of a soldering iron, but be careful.

You could also paint them on, or use a very fine permanent marker, but then you risk the ink spreading in the wood grain.

See the tren'ls on Victory?
View attachment 486318
Click to expand...
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not committed to doing it yet. Like the idea of the look, as I did some on the wales and liked the outcome. It will be a lot of effort (isn't everything on these models) so want to be sure of the look. I like the little details, it satisfies my OCD :)
Many thanks,
Rob
 
That is a LOT of meticulous work my friend.
My wife tells me I’m a schizophrenic when it comes to building my ships.
If she sees me doing these treenails, she hospitalized me.
 
I just LOVE the look of well-done treenails on a ship, like Olga and Uwek and others have done. However I agree with JerryTodd that realistically, treenails would rarely be visible. That, along with my lack of skill in this area, help justify my not using them.
 
Hi Rob.

I was confronted with this issue with my planking but did not want to drill and fill treenails for the lower decks of my Victory, at 1/72 scale. So i did a little research and then remembered a technique used by Dr Paul Dockattner on his Vasa, where he describes the fast method of simulating treenails:

- Obtain a syringe needle of about the diameter of your treenails. For your scale this would be quite large (about 1/2 mm diameter)

- Cut the sharp tip off the syringe needle and file gently to a flat tip with a round shape.

- Using a small gas powered lighter (you can buy these at hardware stores), heat the needle tip until hot.

- Move and position the tip over the location of a treenail and burn the round tip into the plank, the outline of the treenail will result, burnt into the plank.

With practice this becomes very fast and you can do a lot of consistent treenail outlines quickly. A little sanding and deck treatment and it produces a good, treenail likeness.

Note: Be careful with your gas burner - You don’t want to send your model up in flames!!

Regards,

PeterG
 
Signet said:
That, along with my lack of skill in this area, help justify my not using them
Click to expand...
Look at photos of contemporary models. Treenails are not always used and when they are, barely visible so they don't have the "measles" look when using a contrasting color wood. Some pics with and without treenails follow. Note that there are no treenails in the deck beams on any of the models. Your choice in the
end. :)
1733016711261.jpeg
1733016749366.jpeg
1733016831180.jpeg
1733016949728.jpeg
 
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AllanKP69 said:
Hi Rob,
There is a post about making treenails here at SoS posted this past Monday that might be of interest. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/tricks-of-the-trade.15492/page-2#post-410790
Keep in mind that for your scale (I believe you kit is 1:64 scale) the wooden plugs that would be seen are only about 1/2mm in diameter and should be somewhat subtle to avoid appearing as a case of the measles. At this small size many choose to leave them out so you would not be alone if you decide to forgo them. Your choice in the end. :)
Allan
Click to expand...
1. I would leave them out at this scale.
2. However, if you must, try copper wire. It is readily available, cheap, available in many diameters, easily cut, bonds to wood with CYA glue, oxidizes to a warm brown with time, sands easily, etc., etc., etc.
 
Ausierob said:
Hi All, I'm new to wooden shipbuilding and enjoying it. First model is the Amati HMS Fly. Just completed laying the deck and now looking for ideas on how to replicate Treenails.
Click to expand...
Here's the thing: you have to decide on your goal. If you want a model that looks like the real thing, leave out the treenails as bill36 suggests in post #14. The photo in JerryTodd's post #3 shows that you can't see 'em on a real vessel. However, if you want your model to educate about how deck planks were fastened on a ship or you want some decoration, go right ahead and use one of the methods above. Fair winds!
 
personally, i never use treenails on a model. First off iron planking spikes were used and not treenails. here is an actual spike i pulled from the deck of a shipwreck

real spike.jpg

measuring the head a shy short of 3/4 inches after being mushroomed out from hammering.

actual spike head.jpg

scale the spike down to a 1:48 scale model, that huge log is actually the end of a tooth pick the twisted wire is a scale size planking spike which is .010 thousandths of an inch. .012 head

spike.jpg

they would be so tiny you would not see them with the naked eye anything larger is grossly out of scale. I do wonder why such attention is given to the accurate scale of the model then add something so out of scale.

would you put out of scale figures on your model? that is about what out of scale treenails would look like

halifax32.jpg

the BUT here is scale is compromised when it comes to "model" ship building it has become traditional to add treenails way out of scale.
 
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