Deck planking...how do you count the # of steps to get a plank done??
1) in the above photos you slide a 2"wide piece from a large chunk of balsa
2) rip that piece down into 10" scale plank widths
3) cut those strips into 8' scale lengths
4) use a stainless steel wirebrush to distress the top surface
4) sand the sides of each of those planks to remove basswood fuzz
5)lightly chamfer/sand the ends of the planks at 45 on good side
<build a jig to hold the planks so as not to sand you finger nails/skin off>
6) lightly chamfer/sand the 2 long sides of each plank at 45 angle
<build a jig to hold the planks for drilling>
7) drill first hole in planks at depth to allow pin heads (used to simulate bolts) to sit at or slightly below the surface of the plank (don't want the airmen slipping/tripping in flight!)" repeat 6 times for each plank
8) drill a second smaller diameter hole to accept the "tail" of the pin (something for the glue to grab onto), repeat 6 times for each plank
9) now...you're left with fuzz and torn fibers from the drilling operation...so rub two planks face-to-face together to "sand" the fuzz and flatten the fibers
10) place a batch of planks in a fedex box and shake back and forth about 70-80 times to remove dust from drill holes
11) using a nail set (which luckily is same diameter as the outer larger diameter hole) press and twist the drill set to press the fibers down in...this leaves a pretty nice clean circumference around the outer hole, repeat 6 times for each plank
Repeat each step above, 600 times (for each plank).
next steps will be staining the planking, painting the bolt heads brassy-brass (Vallejo), apply wash (TBD) to each bolt head, cut each bolt head from pin body and glue in place...repeat 6 times for each plank.
Whew.
Before hole drilling...
Before and after fiber compression with nail punch:
Stacks of finished planks awaiting transfer to the shipbuilding yards:
Heinrich is inspecting the planks before transfer...looks like he approves?.
Various color tests on "bolt heads"
:
"bolt heads"...most of them primed..awaiting color coat..