Do you mean this Mantua vice? Looks good on the picture. And cheap too. Only $55 US. If it does the job what can be better?
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thats the thing. i just wondered if there were alternatives or any home made options.
Keel clamps are fine for holding a hull while working on deck fittings and rigging but I prefer a simple cradle - especially in the early stages of a build or when the model has virtually no keel. The supports can be shaped by using the holes in the plywood sheets from which the bulkheads are cut. The one illustrated below used bulkheads 4 and 8 as a guide. The temporary plywood boards screwed at the bow and stern support the model when on its side or inverted.
For securing the planks I favour thin plywood strips. For the scond stage planking they are screwed into the bulkheads where a wale will ultimately cover the holes. The other ends are pinned very close to the most recent plank to pinch it tightly to the hull. The straps are easily prised up to lift the pins for extraction ready for the next plank.
All these aids are made from odd scraps of wood and cost nothing.
![cradle1[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416132-a57980a39d4fab5dec2b2b36d3a68bec.jpg "cradle1[1].jpg")
![cradle2[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416133-fb55553d24244ca527df7b9082f9b6d1.jpg "cradle2[1].jpg")
![cradle3[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416134-860ae10946e006ae0154cd5b0f7e2bfa.jpg "cradle3[1].jpg")
![planking_straps[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416136-5e4bdfffd047114d0165da8a19e5fd61.jpg "planking_straps[1].jpg")
For securing the planks I favour thin plywood strips. For the scond stage planking they are screwed into the bulkheads where a wale will ultimately cover the holes. The other ends are pinned very close to the most recent plank to pinch it tightly to the hull. The straps are easily prised up to lift the pins for extraction ready for the next plank.
All these aids are made from odd scraps of wood and cost nothing.
Simple Plank Vice
I would not want to run a plane along the top of a metal plank vice. The alternative shown below is wooden. The second picture shows the option of tacking a thinner planking strip on an inner surface to provide support for the strip being worked on and expose the amount to be removed.
Another option (which I currently favour) is to make a customised ship's curve with the edge shaped to match the profile of the current batch of planks - typically 5 per side. Clamped over a planking strip, the exposed part can be cut away with a craft knife using the plywood ship's curve as a guide. The cut can be angled if required to provide a chamfered edge.
![plank_vice1[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416293-4ecc8ac182d00434b2815b6e63ab282c.jpg "plank_vice1[1].jpg")
![plank_vice_2[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416294-a5c65ee68693afe7df5c3910ec7bb44e.jpg "plank_vice_2[1].jpg")
![plank_vice3[1].jpg](https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/data/attachments/416/416295-5af4a6892232abea0131082da9a3c370.jpg "plank_vice3[1].jpg")
I would not want to run a plane along the top of a metal plank vice. The alternative shown below is wooden. The second picture shows the option of tacking a thinner planking strip on an inner surface to provide support for the strip being worked on and expose the amount to be removed.
Another option (which I currently favour) is to make a customised ship's curve with the edge shaped to match the profile of the current batch of planks - typically 5 per side. Clamped over a planking strip, the exposed part can be cut away with a craft knife using the plywood ship's curve as a guide. The cut can be angled if required to provide a chamfered edge.
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thanks for the help. your wooden option seems a lot kinder to tools, and a lot cheaper too.
I bought a used one off ebay very cheap. Didn't really like it, I replaced the strips on the 'jaws' with small aluminium angle, which wouldn't damage a plane blade. The clamping toggles were a PITA, so they were replaced with M10 bolts & star-wheel 'nuts'. I still don't use it much. In fact, I made a longer one from a pair of aluminium bars 10mm x 25mm, & some M6 studs, thumb nuts, & springs.