Lapstrake Planking cutting a rolling bevel

I recently received an email from Patricia Hong, asking for some clarification on the system I use for cutting plank bevels when building lapstrake (clinker).  I thought the email and my reply (attached to the original in red to save time - we were still in flood-recovery mode) might be of interest to others. Here it is, along with some illustrations for clarity.

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That is me, cutting a plank bevel on the first Periwinkle

? ? 1 :  Is this plane just drilled and a threaded rod put through the body of the plane ? I just drilled one of my low-angle block planes (on a cheap drill press) to accept a piece of brass rod which I had on hand. The rod is a neat fit in the hole, and can slide through to project any length I want, on either side of the plane.

2 :  Does the rod align flat  with the bottom / bed of the plane ? The bottom of the hole (and the bottom of the rod) are 11mm above the bed of the plane. I did this because I had access to cheap pine square-section moldings from the local hardware store which were 11mm x 11mm, and I used these as battens. See answer to next question. 

3 :  The guide / rod appears to be riding on the batten fixed to the mold stations and frames/bulkheads to  follow the rolling bevel of the laps .
Does this batten have to match the thickness of the planking stock in order to cut the correct bevel on the planking stock ? No, it is independant of the planking thickness, but the batten needs to be the same thickness as the distance from the bed (or sole) of the plane up to the bottom of the rod (or the hole). So if a tangent to the rod was positioned 12mm above the sole of the plane, you would need to use a 12mm batten, and so on. All that you are doing is ensuring that the sole of the plane is parallel with an imaginary line drawn from the point where the next plank touches the mold (i.e. where the batten is positioned - in fact parallel with the bottom surface of the batten) to the bevelled lap on the plank which is already in position. I think my description is confusing, but the attached sketch may explain.




I hope you don`t mind all the questions No, I dont mind at all, and Im only too happy to help where I can , and I hope they make sense to you Yes they do, and I think they are very sensible questions , as  I would really try my hand at clinker / (  lapstrake? )  boat building , and your method of cutting rolling bevels appears to be the best way to do this. Glued lapstrake is my favourite method of construction for small craft. It is nowhere near as difficult as some people imagine, but it does need the application of some common sense. Please let me know if you want more information. There are several excellent books on the subject,including Iain Oughtreds "Clinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual" , Tom Hills "Ultalight Boatbuilding" and "How to Build Glued Laptrake Wooden Boats"  by John Brooks and Ruth Anne Hill.

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CNC Boat Kit Cutting at Harbor Sales First Three Francois Vivier Kits Sell

 
 
 

Last week, Clint took a trip to Maryland where Harbor Sales is located and cuts our CNC boat kits. The goal was to oversee the cutting of three Vivier kits that sold, Youkoulili, Ebihen 16, and Beg-meil. Harbor imports the plywood and cuts the panels on any of their four CNC machines (one of which has a 10x23 capacity and the one pictured is a 5x12). They package and ship by UPS Freight the kits direct to the customer. Clint sends the building instructions and getting started materials from Maine. Francois send the plans from France. We get epoxy starter kits to customers from Duckworks in TX or System Three Epoxy in WA.

One of the special features of Clints kits is visible in the close-up shot of the machine cutting the planks. You may be able to make out the NC scarf being machined onto the end of the plank. These scarfs are snapped together and glued by the builder and fits such that the pre-cut spile and sweep of the planks are maintained and perfectly aligned. Hours were spent making this critical feature work perfectly.

Cutting starts in a room full of computers. The files are opened, modified and sent to the machine outside of the room. The cutter exits to a console next to the machine, calls up the file and commands the machine to do its thing. The machine moves fast and there is an automatic shut-off sensor in case you step too close.

Also in kit building news, the Drake Rowboat, winner of the Wooden Boat Show Concourse De Elegance in 2009, is on the bench as a 1/4 scale CNC model. This step always comes before cutting an actual full size CNC model which is test built and checked again and again to adjust the files until they cut perfect molds, planks, laminating jigs and whatever the kit components are for that design.

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