Duchess of Fife planking

[wsnowdon]

Ho PJ et al- the planking on DOF was layed fore and aft, with only a
small amount of joggling at the bows. Deck planking on clyde paddlers
took such a beating due to the amount of usage that the simple fore
and aft mercantile plank run was used to ease replacement. Curved
planking was sved for Posh YOTTS !!! regards, Walter

[wsnowdon]

Just to add to my last messge to clear it up a bit- the outer plank
(known as the margin plank) was always curved. the "Joggling" was
where this plank took on a steaper curve and the ends of the deck
planks were cut into it, giving a saw tooth effect. this meant that
there was no end grain visible to allow damp entering and to make
caulking more effective. Regards, Walter.

[Paulrjordan]

Well done Walter.. you confirmed what I quietly suspected and John
can now confidently plank his model. Actually DOF is a lovely
modeling subject..but then EVERY Clyde paddler is...actually EVERY
PADDLER is...period!

Talking of planking...what is everyone's preference...specially
making nice clean caulking lines ? I have to say I cheat horribly on
decks. I actually use very clear ply, apply a coat of sealer, sand
lightly and carefully draw my caulk lines on with a technical pen and
seal it with a matt varnish. Call me impatient, but I notice a lot of
19th Century builders models used the same short cut too!

I realize there in no substitute for a carefully laid planked and
caulked deck and I have collected hundreds of varying sized coffee
stirring sticks just waiting for the day I am brave enough to try it!
Does anyone have any neat planking tricks?

Thanks again for helping out, Walter

Regards

PJ

[Dallinson]

Hi there shipbuilders.
Caulking on deck planking. I have no idea if this method qualifies as at
neat trick but here goes.
The way I do it is to stick the planks on edge onto a sheet of thin black
card. Once the glue is dry, slit the card with a scalpel, along each side of
the plank and you will be left with a neat strip of black caulking stuck
firmly to the edge. Simply stick the plank up against its neighbour with
some more glue and it looks really neat. Sand over the whole deck and you
only a thin layer of mat varnish to seal. Sometimes the cutting leaves a
little bit of card standing proud. Simply sand this off flush. The selection
of the card is very important as there is some card which is in rather loose
layers. When you try to sand the rough bits off, it simply falls apart!! Buy
some at the art shop and try it first, BEFORE going into production!!
It looks really good.
All the best
David.
PS My other hobby is traction engines. After two years work, I have just run
my quarter size live steam engine, for the very first time, on compressed
air. Quite a day!! Have to get it finished (lagged and painted) and
steaming!!