Post by swanrail on Jun 30, 2007 0:24:26 GMT 1
You will find that wood is a type of living organism.
Traditionally, trees were cut down, sliced into thick planks which were then seperated by spacers and left of dry out at a rate of about 1 inch thickness per year.
This led to a very stable material, which could be worked and left without warping or shrinking problems.
Problem with modern society is that we are all in a hurry, so to reduce the drying time from years to days, wood is now kiln dried, with the result that modern timers tend to be very unstable.
Hence wood must be treated to allow for its quirks. Although most of the supplied planks are of constant thickness/width, this can change according to atmospheric conditions - a damp atmosphere will enlarge, a dry one shrink. Depending on its position in the tree, planks can vary from each other.
Frames and keels tend to be made of ply, as this is most stable and cheap. The ply needs to be waterproof for sailing models and wherever possible end grains needs to be sealed against moisture ingress.
Planking comes in a variety of woods, sizes and thicknesses. It has to be knot free hence usually hardwoods.
Various woods have different characteristics, that supplied for the Victory was slammed as of being poor quality, in fact, it was quite good but needed a lot of TLC.
With that wood, it did not like being bent round big curves nor twisted, nor did it like being trimmed with craft knifes.
Here, the Bismarck planking is much easier to use, and because of the hull shape, quite easy to use. (hence the model being specified as being suitable for beginners!).
Most of the planking is very straight and flat, except for a few areas where it is more bendy and twisty.
I always glue and pin each frame, as well as edge to edge gluing to ensure minimum gaps, maximum strength and a watertight hull.
You should always dry run a new plank, if it sits comfortably, then fasten it, but some planks need a bit of persuasion to either bend around the frames or twist under the hull , or a bit of both.
Wood does not take kindly to being left under stress, and if it is, eventually it can catch you out.
On some models, the wood can be made more pliable by steaming over an open kettle (using pliers to hold the wood). After steaming for several minutes, the wood is bent/twisted to the correct shape plus about 10%, removed form the steam and allowed to cool. It can then be happily fixed to the hull. This I did with the Victory as that wood would either split or crack if I did not.
Here, only a couple of places need destressing, around the stern and bow. Technique I used was to soak a couple of planks in hot water for about 30 mins, pin into place and leave to dry. When dry, the shape remained and then can be glued and pinned into place.
Cutting across planks:-
I use a steel ruler, mark up the ends where the cut has to go, use another plank to help hold the ruler flat so as to be able to press down hard on the ruler to keep it in place.
It is important to then lightly scribe the required cut many times with a craft knife. To much pressure means the knife will try to follow the grain, often with disastrous results.
A background of marquestry work is quite helpful here - it needs careful work to cut across very contrary wood grains!
This technique will be needed when fitting in the final planks under the hull.
Always keep you knives sharp and fingers well out of the way, and cut away from you!
Shaping wood, such as removing surplus material for Markus servos, prop shaft, etc I use a power file. This has a belt of about 12mm width and is very useful for all kinds of timber work.
When painting, always use a good primer, then several undercoats before several topcoats.
The primer and first few undercoats will keep lifting the grain, so giving a rough texture, so between each and every coat, lightly rub down with fine sandpaper. The number of coats you will need in total depends on how fine a finish you want, as well as time and patience!
In many period models, modellers leave the wood in a varnished shape to show off the beauty of wood. It is a substance which can be very rewarding and give a lot of pleasure in working with.
Traditionally, trees were cut down, sliced into thick planks which were then seperated by spacers and left of dry out at a rate of about 1 inch thickness per year.
This led to a very stable material, which could be worked and left without warping or shrinking problems.
Problem with modern society is that we are all in a hurry, so to reduce the drying time from years to days, wood is now kiln dried, with the result that modern timers tend to be very unstable.
Hence wood must be treated to allow for its quirks. Although most of the supplied planks are of constant thickness/width, this can change according to atmospheric conditions - a damp atmosphere will enlarge, a dry one shrink. Depending on its position in the tree, planks can vary from each other.
Frames and keels tend to be made of ply, as this is most stable and cheap. The ply needs to be waterproof for sailing models and wherever possible end grains needs to be sealed against moisture ingress.
Planking comes in a variety of woods, sizes and thicknesses. It has to be knot free hence usually hardwoods.
Various woods have different characteristics, that supplied for the Victory was slammed as of being poor quality, in fact, it was quite good but needed a lot of TLC.
With that wood, it did not like being bent round big curves nor twisted, nor did it like being trimmed with craft knifes.
Here, the Bismarck planking is much easier to use, and because of the hull shape, quite easy to use. (hence the model being specified as being suitable for beginners!).
Most of the planking is very straight and flat, except for a few areas where it is more bendy and twisty.
I always glue and pin each frame, as well as edge to edge gluing to ensure minimum gaps, maximum strength and a watertight hull.
You should always dry run a new plank, if it sits comfortably, then fasten it, but some planks need a bit of persuasion to either bend around the frames or twist under the hull , or a bit of both.
Wood does not take kindly to being left under stress, and if it is, eventually it can catch you out.
On some models, the wood can be made more pliable by steaming over an open kettle (using pliers to hold the wood). After steaming for several minutes, the wood is bent/twisted to the correct shape plus about 10%, removed form the steam and allowed to cool. It can then be happily fixed to the hull. This I did with the Victory as that wood would either split or crack if I did not.
Here, only a couple of places need destressing, around the stern and bow. Technique I used was to soak a couple of planks in hot water for about 30 mins, pin into place and leave to dry. When dry, the shape remained and then can be glued and pinned into place.
Cutting across planks:-
I use a steel ruler, mark up the ends where the cut has to go, use another plank to help hold the ruler flat so as to be able to press down hard on the ruler to keep it in place.
It is important to then lightly scribe the required cut many times with a craft knife. To much pressure means the knife will try to follow the grain, often with disastrous results.
A background of marquestry work is quite helpful here - it needs careful work to cut across very contrary wood grains!
This technique will be needed when fitting in the final planks under the hull.
Always keep you knives sharp and fingers well out of the way, and cut away from you!
Shaping wood, such as removing surplus material for Markus servos, prop shaft, etc I use a power file. This has a belt of about 12mm width and is very useful for all kinds of timber work.
When painting, always use a good primer, then several undercoats before several topcoats.
The primer and first few undercoats will keep lifting the grain, so giving a rough texture, so between each and every coat, lightly rub down with fine sandpaper. The number of coats you will need in total depends on how fine a finish you want, as well as time and patience!
In many period models, modellers leave the wood in a varnished shape to show off the beauty of wood. It is a substance which can be very rewarding and give a lot of pleasure in working with.