I'm a little mystified by the process of cutting the bevel(s) on a bulkhead or frame of a wooden ship model?


Click for larger image. Click for larger image. Click for larger image.
Section view. Plan view. Frame
under
construction.
Good plans will have three views -- the "plan" (top view), profile (side), and "section" (slices through the hull perpendicular to the other two).

From the section view, identify the horizontal and vertical lines that correspond to the water- and "buttock" lines.

Click for larger image.
The dashed line is behind; it shows the "hidden" edge of the bevel.
On the plan (and profile) views, draw a pair of lines (red) that correspond to the front and back edge of the bulkhead or frame.

Using dividers, transfer each intersection (green) between the drawn lines and the water lines and buttock lines to the drawing; fair these up with a smooth curve. You'll now have a single drawing of the bulkhead/frame showing both the front and back edges.

Glue this to the wood, and saw to the outside line. Now bevel from the back (outside) to the front at the inner line -- the bevels are now complete, and it can be put into place.
{John O. Kopf}


Several methods are available. First, obtain a copy of Underhill's book Plank on Frame Models, Volume 1.

Second, get / buy / make about a dozen 'battens' approximately 10% or even 15% longer than the hull length. Take the first batten (actually a pair) tack one end to the stem and the other to the stern, "wherever it fits", providing the midships section was parallel to your datum line. Take note of the difference in contact with the 'frame' (actually bulkhead).

Now divide the spaces and insert additional battens. In a very short time, you will see a pattern developing - the side of the frame closest to the maximum hull dimension will show maximum contact with the batten, and there will be a gap fore or aft.

At this point you have a couple of choices: shave down the high spots on the bulkheads or build up the low spots. (Either will be a compromise!) What you are shooting for is a batten (or fairing strip, or whatever you choose to call it) making solid contact along the 'face' of each bulkhead the entire length of the vessel. In any case, with the exception of the 'dead flat' (read more about lofting if the term is unknown), the edge surfaces of the bulkheads should never be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel (unless you are building a coal or garbage barge). Repeating myself, but Underhill's book provides probably the most lucid description ever written for modellers on how to cope with the thickness of frames/bulkheads.
{RAIcorn824}


Back?