Second layer of planking

[Noco]

Must admit have been impressed so far with the general standard of the parts provided until now. The second layer of planks have contained some realy thin ones 5 up to now and counting. I have put these aside and will only use them as a last resort.

[benhall]

G'day John, seems like it's 'catchup time'. My 2nd lot started off the same way, mostly it was the standard of the finish. I bought and used 'lollypop sticks' as you know, but folks who are 'New' wont know this!. After I completed the hull, I found I had 2.1/2 lots (over 20 bucks worth!!) left, these I have put to use on my 'TITANIC' re-build,as the 'first' layer on her hull, not wasted after all!...Dave.

[Noco]

Ok, Second layer of planking done no major problems and all seems to be good. Just moving on to the parts supplied with issue 42. once I get these on then its down to filling and sanding in preperation for painting.

[benhall]

G'day John, you've definately got a squib up yer bum mate, must be that Singapore fresh air! HMM?, 42, well, Mark of the UK reckons it's best not to use these,'cause they are difficult to sand/file and the portholes will be wrong anyway!!
I've used mine..... first, rear ones are OK and fit fine, not sure about the porthole placements as yet, but both starboard and port fitted in any case.
Now those bow ones, the instructions have each one with the 'cut out' fitted under the anchor resesses/pockets. THis is because this according to the instructions,this resin part was planked over.
Not mine!, this part(anchor pocket) was attached to the bow part so that 'they were one' and attached to the bow as one 'sub unit' The planking @nd layer)therefor butted up to the bow part and underside of the anchor pocket being filled and sanded so that the whole thing was flush.
Now, that made a bit of a difference in the fitting of the ply parts, just a bit! At the 'back' end where the thing butts up to the 'Armour belt', if you leave it the way it is, the slope, goes the wrong way (according to what I've seen). So, what I did was the reverse them, starboard is port, visa versa......OOPS!!...space!!!
 the 'slope goes the other way!! I lined up the portholes in relation to where they should be with the anchor pockets. I then I got the angle right at the 'belt', the 'fronts' where cut off so that the part left butted up to the resin anchor pocket part. This was all set in place with Superglue and white glue as per my usual, then all the gaps were filled and sanded flush, this part fitting in nicely with the 2nd lot of planking.
Perhaps as another solution, and much simpler,these ply parts should be totally disgarded and planking used in their place,(back to MARK!!) the portholes can be marked off correctly and drilled out using the paper template that arrives with 54(?).....Lastly, got parts 52-54 plus binder, so I'll try and get something done this week....Dave.

P/s, another 'lastly', I think the ply was a good idea really, what Amati should have done was to supply these parts WITHOUT the holes drilled, AND ply strips should have been supplied to replace part of the 2nd row planking where the lower row of portholes go. Why?, well, with the experience of the TITANIC behind me I found as the portholes were being drilled, Hundreds and hundreds of them, sore finger job!!! with the wood being as soft as it was, it would splinter at their edge, the ply gives a much 'cleaner' drilled hole as it is harder, therefor better all round, but too late now, just have to go slow and quietly on the drilling....BY!!

[Noco]

Just a couple of tips if anyone is up to sanding down ready for the paint.

1: Sanded down using some rough paper really to get things like extra glue map pin holes and the likes. You can’t be to savage on this as the 2nd plank layer in not really thick enough.

2: Applied wood filler to any nasty bits and sanded smooth.

3: Applied wood filler to the complete hull (I applied this using a damp sponge).

4: Sanded down with fine paper and have a very smooth finish.

Now off to find some paint as in Singapore its not just a case of popping down to your local Bunning’s or Mitre 10. 

[gregtca]

Hi John,

well you seem to be going good. Just wondering what everyone is doing about the top plank joining the deck, been looking at the forum on the uk site & seems 1/2 the builders are putting the deck inside the top plank & 1/2 are not, sum have run planking up to put a lip just above the deck, well i have followed the plans & have sanded the top planks flat with the frame, seems a mistake , now im wondering just what i can do to solve this issue, had a look at one guys pics & he ran brass around the deck, bloody good looking job he's done .

meanwhile im still sanding & filling , taking time to get best finish before i paint & sand some more.

[benhall]

G'day gregtca, good points, just shows you once again how varied the build is between builders, you wont find two the same for sure, even though we are following the... SAME instructions!!
As I have always said, I did mine different but the hull plating came up above the deck and was sanded down flush after much consideration.
I thought that the 'lazer etched' decking would fit right into that, but once I had made my mind up that it DIDN"T, I went with the above!
Now, here's a thing, the 'ecthed planking' and later the railings, do not go right to the edge of the hull. If you view photos you will see a distinctive ' sloped edging' as per the 'slope' in the 'Armour Plating Belt' (maybe not quite as defined, but it's there!!). Hope you can make sense of this.....Dave.

[gregtca]

Hi Dave,

going to try & add side extensions like "swanrail did, he glued planks on top of the top rail < http://buildthebismark.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=info&action=display&thread=941
i might do this or might get a "plank & glue it to the outside of the last top rail, say half of top rail & 1/2 above it , then slot the deck into this, at the moment have to wait to i source some wood or might use copper / brass, as i live in the bush, camperdown , victoria, on another note , been thinking - while sanding hull, about water tight integrity, should i some thing like the following:

1. cover the hull in polly filler completey & then smooth down , then varnish, then paint?

2. or sand down then varnish , then paint ?

3. or just sand & paint hull,

Also thinking of applying varnishing inside the hull ? or maybe applying reson / matting , to improve strength & water tightness ?

Im got up to issue 58 , but have not started any of the brass pieces as of yet , mainly becos i want to have a few hours few of other distractions , & am concentrating on getting the hull completed first. I have mayed all the wood superstructure though, i must say i have never done any building before & maybe bit of more then i can chew, but im trying to get it right & reasonable finish, my model might not be perfect or exactly like the original ship, but it should come up ok to sail on the lake nearby, and i will be happy with it , i hope.Also still waiting on issue 17 to finish the deck, but see alot of builders are getting there own sheet of ply & making there own deck , so it fits better, might do this as well ?

[benhall]

G'day gregtca, that's fine, go for it!!, whatever you think is the way to go, and if someone has the proof his  or her idea worked, absolutely!! I tried to look up the web site here at work to see what's what, but the works computer wont allow it..."barred by content keeper!!" Whoever the bugger is, is a preverbial pain in the butt!!
If you have the hull finished and you are happy with the result, good onya!!. Waterproofing to sail it, well,I think 'varnishing is a 'final act', once you have it on, leave it!! That's my personal belief, but ultimately, the decision is yours! As far as varnishing the inside of the hull goes, why not??, can't hurt it!!
Being held up with any part of the build due to missing parts is the worst that can happen with these 'Part Works'. "OK", some parts can be quite easy to duplicate/make from scratch, go ahead, make your own.. for sure!. Luckilly, (so far) I only had deck part 100 missing, I got the measurements from a fellow builder , nothing hard, straight forward piece of decking, made it from 'Plasticard' in a couple of minutes, wouldn't get held up because of it, put it that way!!
So, if you can make it gregtca, do so, you might "never" get that part, I've never received that deck part100!!

Dave.

[gregtca]

Hi dave, thanks for reply,

[gregtca]

Hi dave , think i mighta stuffed up - in a good way , i seem to have a pack on planks left over, not sure what issue they came in or what they were sposed to be for but, they are about 25cm long, 3 mm high & 1.5 mm wide. im using them to extend the top plank , so that i can but the deck up to them on the inside.i think they were sposed to go on the bow, but somehow got mixed up, and they are perfect to do what i need for the deck issue.

[Noco]

Don't think you've stuffed up i had many planks left over from both 1st and 2nd planks have not chucked them out yet as the may come in handy. must admit though it had me worried when i finished each set of planking that i had so many leftovers.

[benhall]

 G'day John and gregtca,and everybody else!, stuffing up?, specially chicken, love that!! I had so many planks left over, obviously because I used lollypop sticks for most of the 2nd lot, but they still came in handy as I used them for the "1st layer" planking for my "TITANIC"  (sonmehow a lot of her planks ended up on the BISMARCK as well!!), otherwise, don't know what I "wood" have done with them!!...Dave

[SkyFire]

Well I'v taken the plunge and started the 2nd layer planking.