Le Rochefort 1/36 - Build Log by Moreplovac

OK, some dust was made..
I started to experiment a bit with different types of wood; the idea is to have a bit of a contrast in frames (rear and front) so the construction is clearly visible, to test easiness of cutting, sanding, etc and to make sure frame parts will keep the sharp edges... I do have pear wood purchased and it will be used for sure. This time I tested two frames on four different wood types: basswood, beech, cherry and aspen.

Rochefort-0013.jpg

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I like the contrast of aspen/cherry and beech/bass but not sure how will aspen keep the edges... but cheery-beech is also a good combo.

Cherry-beech
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Aspen-Cherry
Rochefort-0019.jpg
Cherry-basswood

Rochefort-0020.jpg

Anyone experimented with these wood types?
 
OK, some dust was made..
I started to experiment a bit with different types of wood; the idea is to have a bit of a contrast in frames (rear and front) so the construction is clearly visible, to test easiness of cutting, sanding, etc and to make sure frame parts will keep the sharp edges... I do have pear wood purchased and it will be used for sure. This time I tested two frames on four different wood types: basswood, beech, cherry and aspen.

View attachment 444874

View attachment 444873

View attachment 444875View attachment 444877

I like the contrast of aspen/cherry and beech/bass but not sure how will aspen keep the edges... but cheery-beech is also a good combo.

Cherry-beech
View attachment 444884

Aspen-Cherry
View attachment 444883
Cherry-basswood

View attachment 444882

Anyone experimented with these wood types?
In my experience and similar experiments, pear, beech and aspen all are suitable and hold an edge well. Swiss Pear is my favorite followed by Boxwood. Cherry and beech are lower on my list as they seem to splinter more easily. And basswood did not make the cut. It’s too “fuzzy” in my opinion.
 
Good morning Moreplovac,
I can only agree with Oliver. Basswood is a very good wood for filling gaps when you have a closed hull or for the first planking. It is often included in kits. It is not really suitable for POF construction as it is too soft. Cherry is good, but I can't say anything about aspen. Beech is also good but the grain is too coarse for my taste. Pear is clearly the favorite, Oliver is talking about the Swiss pear, the tree is actually called service tree and has nothing to do with a pear. The wood is identical though and has a very fine grain. Boxwood or Castello are also great woods, you can also use holly here, both are expensive types of wood. If I were you, I would stick to one type of wood for the frames, even if you make them from the same wooden board, you will be able to distinguish the individual parts from one another easily after oiling or varnishing.

eZy Watermark_16-03-2022_10-23-11AM.jpeg

Here are my first test frames untreated and the upper one oiled.
 
In my experience and similar experiments, pear, beech and aspen all are suitable and hold an edge well. Swiss Pear is my favorite followed by Boxwood. Cherry and beech are lower on my list as they seem to splinter more easily. And basswood did not make the cut. It’s too “fuzzy” in my opinion.
Thanks you, I also noticed basswood leving much blur after sanding and as you mentioned, being a bit fuzzy.

Cheers
 
Good morning Moreplovac,
I can only agree with Oliver. Basswood is a very good wood for filling gaps when you have a closed hull or for the first planking. It is often included in kits. It is not really suitable for POF construction as it is too soft. Cherry is good, but I can't say anything about aspen. Beech is also good but the grain is too coarse for my taste. Pear is clearly the favorite, Oliver is talking about the Swiss pear, the tree is actually called service tree and has nothing to do with a pear. The wood is identical though and has a very fine grain. Boxwood or Castello are also great woods, you can also use holly here, both are expensive types of wood. If I were you, I would stick to one type of wood for the frames, even if you make them from the same wooden board, you will be able to distinguish the individual parts from one another easily after oiling or varnishing.

View attachment 444975

Here are my first test frames untreated and the upper one oiled.
Yeah, I have ordered pear and will use it for frames... Could not get the good contrast combining different wood types that will not be to obvious and on the other hand clearly visible but as you mentioned, after oil treatment I parts will be visibly distinguished between each other...
Thanks for suggestion..
 
As Olivier and Tobias said, you obviously can't go wrong with a good supplier of quality pear wood. I used it for my carvings on my scratch build of HMS Serapis and was able to get superb detail.

I opted for alder for all the framing and timbers, as it was much less expensive. However, it worked awesome, held an edge great and accepted various oils well.

Looking forward to following your build!
 
This time I marked all frames on the plan, and cut them into individual pieces. Then all pieces for one frame are put in a bag, where I will be keeping cut parts for the same frame. Or I can just use rubber bands...

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Then I put all keel/keelsen parts on one piece of wood, this time I am testing alder wood. These will not be on the model, for model I do have purchased pear for keel as well. Testing will allow me to see how things are done in real life, what glue to use for glueing on the board, making sure I check cut pieces for level once they are on the board, position of templates on the board to utilize the most of the board, what cutting tool to use, etc... pretty much the whole process. Maybe a bit overkill but being my first build of such type... next scratch build model will be breeze...

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The board is a bit ticker (10mm) then needed, and will need some sanding or cutting to the correct width.

Happy modelling..
 
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