Reference · How-tos · Decks

Making the margin plank and joggling the deck planks

Work out the width of the margin plank from the literature, cut it by hand from sheet and let the deck planks into the margin plank at the bow (joggling).

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1. 1Deciding the width

   Take one and a half to two times the width of the deck planks for the margin plank, and a little wider still around bow and stern. With 4 mm deck planks that gives us 5 mm; Anatomy of the Ship gives 4.5 mm. Lay a deck strip next to the margin plank to see the difference.

   margin plank 5 mm, deck plank 4 mm

   

   Tip from pietsan: The width is generally taken as one and a half to two times the width of the deck planks, and around bow and stern it is a little wider still.

2. 2Making a paper template of the deck

   Trace the deck edge onto paper and mark the inner line of the margin plank on it. Don't follow the notches in the false deck, because those are too big. Transfer the template to the sheet.

   

   Watch out: Eduard almost followed the notches in the false deck; they are too big for the margin plank.

3. 3Cutting from sheet by hand

   Cut the halves of the margin plank from the 1 mm tanganyika sheet with hobby knives, in several pieces per side. A cutting plotter is no good here: it gives rounded corners, shifted cuts and poorly running notches. By hand it takes two days, but the result is reasonably symmetrical.

   

   Watch out: The first attempt with the Brother Scan 'n Cut failed completely; a cutting plotter is not meant for wood.

4. 4Fitting on the deck

   Lay the pieces loose on the deck and check that they meet the deck edge and each other properly. Let them get a bit wider towards the bow. Don't glue anything yet: first you need to know how the deck planks will go in.

   

5. 5Checking for taper

   Measure each piece for even width. One of ours tapered off by 0.6 mm; nobody will notice that on the gun deck, but on the upper deck you want to avoid it. Then fix the margin plank temporarily with double-sided tape, so that it comes off easily.

   deviation 0.6 mm

   

6. 6Joggling at the bow

   Where a deck plank meets the margin plank at an angle, let it into the margin plank. The butt end that goes into the margin plank is one third of the plank width; the angled part is at least one plank width long, longer is fine, shorter is not. Start joggling as soon as the angled edge of the plank becomes longer than the plank width, and stop as soon as the angled part gets too long: so only at the bow and sometimes at the stern. Top and butt belongs on wales only, not on deck planking.

   butt end one third of the plank width, angled part at least one plank width

   

   Tip from pietsan: You start joggling when the angled edge of the strip that meets the margin plank becomes longer than the width of the strip. It is on page 95 of Mondfeld, with a drawing.

   Watch out: Eduard also regularly read half the width for the butt end; Piet keeps to one third. Pick one and stick to it for the whole deck.

Result

After two days the margin plank lay complete on the gun deck, reasonably symmetrical, with one piece tapering by 0.6 mm. The joggling then turned out easier in practice than expected; for the upper deck we will measure the pieces more carefully.