nails and roves

[maggier]

i,m renewing a plank on my clinker built boat, i,v bought the nails and roves ready. i,v just tried pinning two bits of plank as a trial run using nails and roves but the roves dont bite very well i,m wondering if i,m doing it correctly . any ideas anyone?

 

[Talbot]

probably better off asking this question on the classic boat forum.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

How is the hole in the rove compared to the nails? I have always used roves that had a diameter just over the 'across flats' but less than the 'across corners' measurement of the nails.
A good, heavy, dolly against the nail head and decisive use of a roving iron. Steady hits with a hammer on the end of the roving iron cause the rove to flatten slightly and grip the nail while biting into the wood surface.
Very common mistakes are (1) to try to do it with too few taps that are too light, (2) just a couple of really heavy blows (3) dolly not heavy enough or not held firmly enough against nail head.
It's really just a matter of practice.
Happy peening. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[nrorke]

Drill a hole in the wood with a diameter the same as the flat of the nail, so it makes a good tight fit. Drive the nail in and hold the head with a dolly while you slide a rove onto the shank of the nail. A hollow punch is the best way to achieve this. Cut the excess off the nail, leaving about the width of the nail or a bit less protruding beyond the rove. Hold the nail head firmly with a substantial dolly while you work the other end over the rove with a ball-pein hammer. If you've Left too little of the nail protruding, the rove will slide off before you can 'mushroom' the nail over it. If you've left too much, the nail will bend inside the wood. (You can tell if it's doing this by the way the rove will tend to slide sideways when it should be pulling tight) Don't keep hammering so you flatten the rove, it needs its dish-shape to keep a bit of spring.Once you've got the nack it's simple. It's a job that really needs two people to tackle it properly. Good luck.

 

[Strathglass]

I agree with everything there but would add a couple of points.
To cut the nail after driving on the rove a very sharp pair of pincers will do fine.
I use a small chisel headed hammer as well as a ball-pein.
I use this to give just the first blow on the nail before using the ball-pien. I find this spreads out the nail first before rounding it off.
The relative weight of the dolleys and hammers is quite important. Too heavy or too light and the job will be very difficult.
I use a steel rod about 6" long and 2" diameter with various dimples and projections at one end to match the rivet head.
Inside I use a 1" dia rod 6" long with a long hole at one end to drive on the rove.

I agree that it is a two person job.

Quite a satisfyng job to do.

Cheers

Iain

 

[maggier]

thank you for that info , i didnt realise i had to finnish of the nails as decribed , i,m very gratefull for your help LES

 

[Bodach na mara]

One final point, when I watched the boatman at the local rowing club building a clinker dinghy, I noticed that he used LOTS of simple clamps to hold the plank edges in close contact while they were clenched up.

The clamps consisted of pairs of bits of scrap wood about 25mm square and 450mm long loosely bolted with 6mm coachbolts about a plank width + 25 mm from one end. That end was slipped over the plank to the joint and a wedge shoved in at the other end to tighten the joint. One of these was used every foot or so.