Reference · How-tos · Head and rudder

Cutting a head grating by hand

Mark out all the grating openings first and then cut only with a No. 11 hobby knife blade, because drilling and tidying up gives a ragged grating.

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1. 1Saw out the grating and check it on the drawing

   Saw out the outline of the grating and lay it on the kit drawing of the head. Check that it meets the bow and the upper headrails, and decide where the holes for the seats of ease go. Ours sit slightly closer to the centre than on the drawing, so the bumkins can pass outside them.

   

   Tip from Herby63: Make the grating again with the holes for the seats of ease a little closer to the centre, and while you are at it make it wider at the back so it follows the run of the upper headrail better.

   Watch out: Do not follow the drawing blindly: on it the bumkins run over the seats of ease. That cost us two earlier gratings.

2. 2Mark out all the openings

   Mark out every grating opening in pencil before making a single cut. Use a ruler and keep the bars between the openings the same width everywhere. Lining them up is the hardest part of the job, so take your time.

   

3. 3Skip the drilling

   Our first attempt used two drilled holes per opening, then cutting along the length and smoothing with the drill. That was pretty hopeless: the openings come out uneven and ragged. So do not pre-drill, cut straight away.

   

   Watch out: Drilled holes as a start for an opening look handy, but you never get the edges straight afterwards. We had to redo the whole lower part.

4. 4Cut each opening with a No. 11 blade

   Cut the openings out with a No. 11 hobby knife blade along the pencil lines, using several light cuts rather than one heavy one. Stab in the short ends first, then cut the long sides. Replace a blade as soon as the tip goes.

   Watch out: Because of the tight spaces the tips of the blades snap constantly. We used twelve blades for one grating; have a stock ready.

5. 5Try the grating on the bow

   Lay the grating in place on the bow and check that it meets the hull and the rails, and that the holes for the seats of ease and the bowsprit are in the right place. Put the earlier attempts next to it to see whether this really is the best one.

6. 6Choose the finish

   Up to this grating nothing on our Diana had been varnished. Decide whether to leave the grating bare or give it a very thin coat of varnish; try it on one of the rejected gratings and pick what you like best.

   Tip from pietsan: Varnish is a matter of taste. I sometimes put on a very thin coat of water-based matt varnish to keep the colour, because untreated wood discolours over time.

   Watch out: A spray can is usually not a success for us: you get carried away and the varnish runs.

Result

After three gratings and twelve blades we have a grating we are very pleased with: the one on the right of the row. Next time we skip the drilling straight away and start with marking out and cutting.