Plank On Frame versus Plank On Bulkhead
John Buehler
pretty much any form of planking over a supporting structure - as
distinct from a solid hull. Now I've run across the term Plank on
Bulkhead. I've been working on a model which started with a plywood
spine and plywood crosspieces onto which planks were glued and
nailed. Is this more accurately Plank on Bulkhead?
Why would anyone make a Plank on Frame ship unless they were going
to do a cutaway?
How does planking a frame compare with planking bulkheads?
JB
Ståle Sannerud
>JB
I guess "plank on frame" in a strict sense would imply that the ship
is built with a hollow set of frames as opposed to a set of massive
plywood-style bulkheads, as you say. However, it is commonly referred
to as plank-on-frame whether you use massive bulkheads or proper
frames.
Proper plank-on-frame could be used if you wanted a complete interior
in the ship, or at least on the gun-decks. This is rather hard to do
with massive bulkheads. Also, I am convinced that adding a complete
internal structure with deck-beams et al will make it easier to get
the outside right - you will have far more references to the placing
of wales, gun-ports etc (always assuming that the internal structure
is put in the right places :) It has certainly been a problem with my
massive-bulkhead Neptunus, 80.
I hhaven't tried building proper plank-on-frame myself, but from what
I gather it a) is a lot more work than plank-on-bulkhead (all those
frames to build and put in place), and b) makes for a better hull
shape and a more solid model. Think about it - you would be defining
the hull shape for each and every frame, instead of just at the
bulkheads, and the external planking will be supported by an almost
continuous array of frames instead of just the occasional bulkhead.
Staale Sannerud
Septimus
modelmaker's art: The keel, stem, sternpost, frames and ALL hull timbers
are accurate scale reproductions of the prototype vessel. In some British
"Admiralty" models, the planking was purposely left incomplete to allow
the viewer to examine the hull timbers.
Hope this info helps,
Septimus
Don Stauffer
>
> I have been operating on the assumption that Plank on Frame meant
>pretty much any form of planking over a supporting structure - as
>distinct from a solid hull. Now I've run across the term Plank on
>Bulkhead. I've been working on a model which started with a plywood
>spine and plywood crosspieces onto which planks were glued and
>nailed. Is this more accurately Plank on Bulkhead?
>
> Why would anyone make a Plank on Frame ship unless they were going
>to do a cutaway?
>
> How does planking a frame compare with planking bulkheads?
>
>JB
>
Why would anyone plank a model anyway? By that, I mean after the hull is
planked you cannot see bulkheads either. There are at least two reasons
for plank on frame that I am aware of. One, thats the way a real ship is
made, so I want to do it that way. Two, maybe I am going to put in some
internal detail, leave hatches uncovered, etc., and don't want to have
bulkheads visible (that were not there on prototype). With large
warships this internal detail might be the guns, and the interior is
clearly visible through open ports.
I might point out that there are a number of hybrids that are neither
fish nor fowl. Some POB kits feature the bulkheads cut back to look like
frames starting at the lower gundeck.
It is also possible to build a hybrid with a solid hull up to the lower
gundeck, with frames above that, this whole structure then planked. In
this case, of course, the hull is smaller by the dimension of the
thickness of the planks from what it would be if it were a carved hull
not planked over.
Don Stauffer in Minneapolis
stau...@htc.honeywell.com
David C Graf
> I have been operating on the assumption that Plank on Frame meant
>pretty much any form of planking over a supporting structure - as
>distinct from a solid hull. Now I've run across the term Plank on
>Bulkhead. I've been working on a model which started with a plywood
>spine and plywood crosspieces onto which planks were glued and
>nailed. Is this more accurately Plank on Bulkhead?
It's plank-on-bulkhead. In plank-on-frame, you actually model the frames
of the original ship.
> Why would anyone make a Plank on Frame ship unless
they were going >to do a cutaway?
Most of the plank-on-frame models I have seen omit the planking on the
lower hull, in order to show the detail of the keel and futtocks and all
that. I suppose you could do a fully planked plank-on-frame model just
for your own satisfaction, but there would be little other point.
> How does planking a frame compare with planking bulkheads?
As I understand it, the actual planking process is a little easier,
because there is more material underneath the planks to support them.
However, this is more than outweighed by the extra time and effort (not
to mention material) necessary to accurately model the frames. Unless
you want to demonstrate the construction of the original ship, you might
as well go plank-on-bulkhead.
Dave :-/
Thomas Burkman sr
Look at it this way. A 200' ship might have only 10 bulkheads, but 100
frames.
If you were doing an admiralty model, you would want to show all of the
frames, so any planking would be plank on frame. If you are building what
would be considered a completely finished hull, then you are depending
on the bulkheads ( as defined in the ship's lines) to give you the hull
shape.
From your note, your kit is of this type.
Here is a tip for you, if you fill in the space between the bulkheads
with pieces of balsa wood, and sand them down to the ship's lines, you
have the equivalent of a solid hull to plank.
TB
-
THOMAS BURKMAN SR BWF...@prodigy.com