Planking bending, for model ships, Should you Soak the planks?
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Planking bending, for model ships, in this video I will be looking at a couple of different methods / tools for plank bending, I will also test out whether you should Soak the planks?.
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Hi Grant, I still prefer my soldering iron. However, I had to learn that wet planks like to shrink in a wide direction.
I prefer the heat option, never actually used a soldering iron, although the plank bender i use is an adapted soldering iron I guess
So far I have only tried two methods; the planking pliers, and putting the planks in warm water for a few minutes and bending slowly. The bending by hand method is currently taking the lead. I will try the soldering iron on my next build and see how that goes. I did however find the pliers difficult to use and broke quite a bit of planks. I will try them again to see if it was only me.
Hi Joe, I can never get on with the pliers, as you could see in the video lol
@@g-kip Those pliers and I are mortal enemies!
In one of my models was a jig or fixture included, to span or fix soaked planks. That worked quite well. I believe such tools or on the market also.
As far as the wood swelling when soaked, i never minded that much, since usually the planks have to be tapered mostly in that area.
Nevertheless i enjoyed the vid !!
Thanks Martin, thought I would try something a bit different.
Danish boatbuilders used to steam the planks... They said "½ hour per inch of thickness"...
This was probably for oak and ash wood.
A quick calculation translates this to 1 minute and 12 seconds per millimeter thickness...
It is said the heating actually strengthens the plank, as the cellulose will melt,
and then "stiffen again in the right shape", when cooling...
One said the heat makes "cells burst" and the hot cellulose float out,
and bonds directly to the cellulose from the neighbouring cells.
But as the very least, the pre-bending removes all the stress,
which would be in the plank, if only "forcibly cold-bend"!
Which I have seen many "amateur boatbuilders" do!!!
Some bowyers (those who build bows, to shoot arrows) will NOT make the wood wet,
so they smear oil on the wood, "any kind of oil you like", and heat it with a hot-air-gun...
The idea is, the oil conducts the heat, so it reaches the core faster,
and therefore the wood get "soft like rubber" pretty fast...
But I doubt this would be good for model builders, as the oil might prevent the glue to hold?
It might even make it imposssible for modern paint to stick?
Also note that when heat bend wood, is released from the bend template, aka "a bend jig",
it will straighten out a bit.. But only a bit..
So an "accurate template" is partly useless... But only "partly".
Many bowyers DO use templates!
Boatbuilders would simply steam a plank and move fast to clamp it to the place where it should be mounted,
and then allow it to cool down...
This method was needed, as the bend most often also included some twisting of the plank...
And it would simply not be practical to build a bend-template for each single plank!
Note that boatbuilders had a long steambox, so the entire plank could be in it...
Thanks Dan, very interesting, Ive never used steam to bend planks, something I will look into.
Hey @g-kip, you are welcome :)
Just use some gloves, to avoid a nasty burn ;)
It may sound obvious, but I forgot it the first time I heat-bended a bow ;)
A simple steam "box", is a frying pan with boiling water, with four sticks, to keep the plank above water,
and then a "roof" of tin foil, to keep the steam "dense".
Make sure the "roof" is a pointy cone, so condensed water does not drip down on the plank.
It has been steamed enough, when it gets "soft like rubber"...
Steaming it longer time, does not ruin the wood, but it obviously gets more moisture inside...
Also note, as it really gets soft "like rubber", you should avoid too hard pressure from clamps...
And make sure to "adjust the shape"... If the plank is "stretched" too hard, over the ribs, it will only bend at the ribs...
And finally... After bending and cooling, you can dry the wood out, in an oven, around 40-50 Celsius degrees...
I asume ½ hour would be enough, for the thin planks in model building.
This "after heating" should NOT make it soft again, and ruin the bend...
And this guarentees, that the plank does not shrink after the final mounting!
Good video Grant. Well explained. I've tried the crimpers but I'm too heavy handed and usually snap them. I generally soak the planks but only for a couple of minutes and once I start just keep the plank slightly damp.
Thanks Greg, Ive just re-measured the plank fully dry it is now 5.24 it would have left a gap.
Noice... way to go
Thanks
For Pete's sake, G Kip! Buy a decent microphone!
Dont think there is anything wrong with the Microphone, maybe my set up, and the fact its on the bench, not a boom. The Microphone is an Elgato Wave 3
@@g-kip Please fix it, buddy. It hurts to hear the background sound and clipped voice. I'd like to enjoy your model building pleasantly, because you're a craftsman!
@@g-kip The Elgato Wave 3 is a fantastic microphone. Could it be positioned to far away? Of course, but it's clear on my end.
I had the microphone on my desk, in fairness it was off to my side, and my PC Fans do make a lot of noise. I do need to make some changes.
Background noise ruins it !!!!!!!
Hi, unfortunately I was still trying to setup the microphone when I recorded this video, the backgroun noise has now been sorted.
The audio is terrible
Im sorry about that, i had a few issues setting it up, I think ive got it sorted now, ive been testing it for the last week.