How to carve a boat from wood. DIY ship from scrap materials: detailed master classes with photo and video materials

Master class “Do-it-yourself wooden boat”

"Boat of Childhood" Master class with step by step photos

Andrey Narvatov, 5th grade student of the Municipal Budgetary Educational Institution “Perkhlyayskaya Secondary School” of the Ruzaevsky District of the Republic of Mordovia
Supervisor: Zhbanov Alexander Semenovich, teacher of fine arts and technology, MBOU "Perkhlyayskaya OOSH" Ruzaevsky district of the Republic of Mordovia
Target: Making a sailboat from wood with your own hands.
Tasks: Improve the skills and abilities of working with carpentry tools, obtain information about the types and main parts of sailing ships, cultivate diligence, the desire for independent creative work.
Purpose: The product is made as a gift to a beloved brother, sister or other loved one; it will serve as a good toy and decoration for a child’s room.
The master class is intended for students in grade 5 and older and will be useful for technology teachers and parents.
Ah, drops, drops, drops,
Golden carousel!
To us in a paper boat
April has sailed down the stream!
Sergey Kozlov

I love spring very much and always look forward to its arrival. And not at all because I don’t like winter, I just really want to see the first drops of spring, enjoy the warm sun, put on my boots and run through the spring puddles. My friends and I also love to let streams flow, with various boats made of paper, cardboard, and polystyrene along them. Unfortunately, paper boats quickly get wet and sink, while foam boats are too light and often capsize. So my friends and I thought about it and decided to make boats out of wood. Wood is a durable material, easy to process, and most importantly, it does not sink in water!
We approached the technology teacher with this proposal, and he happily helped us. Now I want others to learn how to make such toys. The work is not only not difficult, but also interesting. Before you start practical production boat, we, on the instructions of the teacher, searched for information about sailing ships, looked at the Internet pictures. I want to boast that now I know that the basis of any sea vessel is its hull. Conventionally, the body can be divided into two parts. The front is called the bow, and the back is called the stern. The stern and bow on both sides along the center line are connected by sides. Hence the concept of left side and starboard side. The horizontal surface at the top of the ship is called the deck. On the decks of sailing ships, one or more vertical masts are installed, to which the sails are attached.
All that remains is to show the version of the sailboat I have chosen and get to work.

Basic materials and tools for work
1. Semicircular wood of any species (size as desired)
IN in this case length of wood 15 cm, width of flat surface 6 cm.
2 Semicircular and flat chisels
3. Sandpaper
4. Gouache, colorless varnish


A semicircular workpiece is obtained by splitting round wood along the center (diameter)
On the flat surface of the wood we will draw a boat shape.


Cut with a flat chisel.


For convenient and safe work It is better to secure the workpiece in a carpenter's or metalworker's vice. When working, you must not be distracted or disturb others. It is necessary to monitor the quality of work and follow the basic rule of safe work: do not put your hands under the cutting tool!


Let's cut out all the sides.


On the board (side part) we will draw the bow and stern.


Let's draw the deck. Strips with dots are places for attaching masts.


Cut out using a vice. The depth of the recess is 5-10 mm.


Let's process it with sandpaper.


Let's paint it. Everyone chooses the color themselves. But we must take into account that contrasting colors give a brighter effect. If the product is varnished, you can use ordinary gouache.


Let's prepare two wooden rods (diameter 5-7 mm). The shape of the rods can be either cylindrical or rectangular.


Let's drill shallow holes and “plant” the masts with glue. If you don’t have a drill, you can use an awl or a sharpened nail for drilling.
The height of the masts is 10 and 6 cm from the deck surface.


We will apply decorative touches, stains and paint with varnish.


While the hull of the sailboat is “standing on the pier”, you can work on the sails. To do this, we cut out the sail from the file folder. The size of the sails depends on the size of the ship and the height of the mast. In this case, the height of the small sail is 5 cm, the large one is 9 cm. We use toothpicks, you can take a piece of empty ballpoint pen paste.


These materials are not afraid of water, are quite durable and stick well to each other with Moment glue. We cut off the excess ends.



We make two notches on the masts. The distance between them should be 7-10 mm less than the height of the sail.


The same glue is suitable for assembly. The ship is ready.


All that remains is to pass the tests. And it really doesn’t sink! The varnish protects against getting wet, floats in the slightest wind and even in artificial wind.



I would like to show the work of my classmates.
This is also a two-sail boat, only it has cardboard sails


And this one has no sails at all. His father helped his classmate cut out the bow and stern of the ship. They decided to put their ship on a pedestal.


The easiest option is chosen here, but I don’t like it...


This one is solid, but also made with the participation of elders.


My sailboat is easy to make and reliable to use! Only now it became a pity to let it into the dirty stream... Probably, it would be better to give it to my sister, she has already learned to dream and believes in miracles, like Assol, the girl from the romantic story “Scarlet Sails”.

In modeling, plywood is the most popular material. This is due to high quality indicators, as well as ease of operation. Plywood sheets are very easy to cut and quite easy to process. Using a suitable diagram (drawing), you can make ships from plywood with your own hands.

Plywood is a versatile material that is easy to cut and process. different ways, therefore, it is recommended to begin your acquaintance with modeling with plywood patterns.

Designing a ship yourself is quite an interesting activity. But in order to start performing complex models, you need to practice on easier ones.

Materials and tools

To create patterns from stucco on board a ship, you need to prepare your own composition from which you can form reliefs. For the solution, you need to prepare the following tools and materials:

  • wood dust;
  • PVA glue (on average, one ship model can take about half a liter of glue);
  • plasticine for creating small irregularities and patterns;

Materials and tools that are used during ship modeling:

Birch plywood will ensure a minimum number of chips when sawing.

  • plywood of the required thickness;
  • Super glue;
  • sandpaper for surface treatment;
  • nylon thread;
  • jigsaw for cutting out parts;
  • construction knife;
  • wood for the mast. It is better to use pine, as it is much easier to process;
  • dye;
  • small brushes;
  • Chinese chopsticks;
  • fabric for sails;
  • a thread;
  • pencil ruler.

The wood for modeling should be soft, not fibrous. The most popular options are cedar, linden, and walnut. All wooden pieces must be perfectly smooth, without knots or damage. It can be used as additional element for creating decorative parts. Wood can also be used to create the main elements of the model, such as the deck and hull.

Plywood is the most popular material in modeling. In areas such as modeling, birch or balsa plywood is most often used. This is due to the fact that these types of wood practically do not chip during sawing. To make a boat from plywood, you need to use sheets with a thickness of 0.8-2 mm.

A simple diagram of a plywood ship model.

Veneer is a sheet material, very thin, made from valuable wood. In most cases, veneer is used as facing material. It is used to paste over products that are made from inexpensive material.

Fastening elements will not only perform the main task of holding parts together, but also play a decorative role. To create a model of a boat, you need to prepare thin chains (several sizes can be used), laces, threads, copper or brass nails. In order to transfer a drawing from sheet to plywood, it is best to use tracing paper and a pencil. This will make the drawing more detailed. To fasten the plywood parts together, you must use glue. Fine detailing can be made using metal casting, using polymer clay, or making your own solution from wood dust and PVA glue. After complete drying, this mass is very durable and can be painted in the desired color.

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Preparatory work

If you are modeling a plywood ship for the first time, it is recommended to purchase kits in which all the parts have already been cut out and processed. But its cost can sometimes be quite high. Therefore, with great desire and effort, experience can be gained in the process of assembling your ship. Modeling, like other types of work, necessarily begins with the preparatory stage. The first thing you need to start with is what kind of ship you will model. To begin with, it is worth looking at various drawings and finished works, this will greatly facilitate the choice of model.

Having studied the drawing in full, it is worth checking the availability of all the necessary materials and tools to complete the work. Modeling ships is a piece of jewelry. It requires a lot of time and perseverance.

At the preparatory stage, it is necessary to make paper or cardboard templates of all parts. After that, they are all transferred to plywood. On this preparatory stage work can be considered completed.

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Manufacturing of parts

In order to make all the parts and cut them out of a plywood sheet, you must use the appropriate tool. For work, you can use a manual jigsaw, but, if possible, it is better to use an electric model version. Using the second option will significantly reduce the time for manufacturing all elements. This is especially true for the most small parts.

The sawn blanks are processed with a file, removing chips and burrs.

In order to cut out a part, a hole is made in the plywood into which a jigsaw file is placed. It is necessary to cut out all the details very carefully, while respecting all contour boundaries, since inaccurately cut parts can later spoil appearance the entire ship. Each sawn workpiece must be processed with a file from the ends. During this cleaning process, it is necessary to remove a small part of the chamfer where chips and burrs have formed. When cutting, this moment cannot be avoided.

You need to assemble the ship when all the parts are cut out and the ends are processed. This will allow you to do assembly work without being distracted by cutting out missing parts.

Create a model old ship you can do it yourself without buying a ready-made structure for assembly. To achieve a high-quality result, you will have to show a lot of patience and perseverance.

Materials

To make a historical ship with your own hands, prepare:

  • plywood or balsa wood;
  • thin strips of wood, bamboo or rattan;
  • wood glue;
  • paper;
  • pencil.
  • In this model of the ship, not plywood was used as a base, but balsa wood. The choice was due to the ease of working with the material. Unlike plywood, where you need a saw for cutting, with balsa wood everything was done with a simple sharp knife. You can also take thin strips for work from any material, they just have to bend well. Wood glue should not be replaced with hot glue, much less super glue.

    Step 1. On paper you need to draw the main details of the future ship. You can print them if you find suitable layouts on the Internet. Please note that your ideas may undergo slight changes as you work. This is not critical if you just want to build a ship in an old style, and not repeat an exact copy of a specific ship.

    Step 2. For convenience, work with the ship was divided into several parts. The ship itself was also assembled. Most of the time was spent making the central part of the ship. Then the front, rear and deck parts with the mast were made.

    Step 3. First of all, using the existing sketches, make the skeleton of the ship. Be sure to make sure that all its edges are symmetrical. If there is a slight deviation somewhere, correct these flaws. Make sure that when attaching the ribs, they are exactly at an angle of 90 degrees.

    Step 4. Once the skeleton is ready, start decorating its sides. To do this, glue a long strip along the center line of the side part. Continue to focus on it when you glue the rest. It is better to glue the slats in stages to make your work easier. Apply enough glue, but make sure that it does not flow down the slats. Additionally, secure the slats using clamps, leaving them in this form until the glue dries completely. After the glue has dried, remove the clamps and continue gluing the slats in the next area.

    Step 5. Fill all areas where gaps form between the slats with epoxy resin. When ready, coat all parts of the ship with wood varnish.

    Step 6. After the main work, move on to finishing. You can hide all possible aesthetic flaws at this stage. To do this, carefully glue slats over areas with obvious defects to hide them. You can make a horizontal line from rattan, emphasizing the smooth shape of the ship. The base of the ship is ready.

    Step 7. Masts need to be made from wooden rods and small flat pieces of wood. There will be two masts in the ship. Adjust the rods in advance to the calculated dimensions. To attach the masts, cut two pieces of wood measuring 4 x 2 cm. Drill holes in them for the mast rods. Make a reinforcing lattice from small rods and assemble the entire structure.

    Step 8. Make a template for the ship's deck from paper and, based on it, build a deck part from wooden strips. After letting it dry thoroughly, drill holes for attaching the masts. Insert and glue the masts. Use plywood to make the side rails of the ship.

    Step 9. Glue the wooden strips at the front and back of the ship in the same way. They need to be glued to the side and in the deck part, and rods and handrails should be made from pieces of plywood. All parts are fastened with wood glue. Don't forget to raise the back of the ship with steps.

For model making enthusiasts, sheets of pressed and glued wood veneer have always been one of the most sought after materials. They are easy to cut, perfectly processed, drawings of ships made of plywood are easy to find on the Internet, and therefore it is with plywood patterns that many craftsmen begin their acquaintance with modeling various ships.


Making models with your own hands is a very difficult task, requiring a significant amount of knowledge and a certain skill. In this article we will only talk about the most basic techniques, and you will hone further skills yourself.

Materials for work

If you want to make a small model of a ship, then you will need the following materials:

  • Wood - cedar, linden, walnut or other wood, preferably soft and non-fibrous. Wood blanks must be smooth, without knots or damage. Wood can be used both as a material for the main elements of the model (hull, deck) and for fine detailing.
  • Plywood is perhaps the most popular material. For ship modeling, either balsa or birch is used, since these are the types of wood that provide the minimum number of chips when sawing. Model ship plywood, as a rule, has a thickness of 0.8 to 2 mm.

Note! Sheets of beech veneer of thin thickness are sometimes used as an alternative to birch: although they are inferior in strength, they bend much easier.

  • Veneer – thin plates natural wood expensive breeds. As a rule, it is used for veneering, i.e. pasting surfaces from inexpensive material.
  • Fastening elements - thin chains, laces, threads, brass and copper nails.

In addition, we will definitely need wood glue, cardboard and tracing paper for transferring templates, etc. Fine detailing is made from metal casting. As an alternative to metal, you can use colored polymer clay.

Making a souvenir boat

Preparing for work

Any work begins with preparation, and modeling will by no means be an exception.

  • First we need to decide what we will build. If you have not previously dealt with shipbuilding art, we recommend downloading drawings of a ship made from plywood on the Internet: as a rule, they contain all necessary information and are understandable even to a beginner.

Note! Kits are available for sale that allow you to assemble a ship from finished parts. Beginners will be interested in such kits (although the price of most of them is quite significant), but it is still better to master the technology from the basics.

  • After analyzing the drawing, we check whether everything necessary is available. In principle, if something is missing, you can buy more a little later, because building a ship (even a miniature one) is not a quick task!

  • After printing the drawing, we make templates for the main parts.
  • We transfer the templates to .

Cutting out and assembling parts

You can cut blanks using either a manual or an electric jigsaw.

The latter is more expensive, but with it you will have less trouble cutting out small parts:

  • We make a starting hole in the plywood sheet into which we insert a file or jigsaw blade.
  • We cut out the part, trying to move exactly along the marked contour.
  • We process the sawn workpiece with a file, removing small chamfers along the edges and removing the inevitable chips and burrs.

Advice! Working on one element (deck, sides, keel, etc.), we immediately cut out all the parts necessary for assembly. This way we will spend significantly less time, and the work will move faster.


When everything is ready, we begin assembling our ship.


  • First, we put transverse frames on the longitudinal beam - the keel. At the bottom of each frame there is usually a groove for fastening to the plywood keel.
  • For joining, you can use standard glue, or you can use special adhesive mixtures intended for ship modeling.
  • We attach the upper parts of the frames to the deck. For simple models, the deck is a single sheet of plywood, while for complex ones it can be multi-level.
  • After the glue on the frames has dried, we begin to sheathe the sides with thin strips of plywood. The thickness of the material should be no more than 1.5 mm, since only in this case we will be able to bend the skin without the risk of damaging it.
  • For bending, you can heat and humidify. After this, the material will bend without difficulty, and over time it will acquire a stable shape.

Note! The body can be covered with a continuous sheet for painting. But to imitate plank cladding, it is better to use strips up to 10 mm wide (depending on the scale).


  • We fix the glued plywood with clamps and clamps and leave it to dry.

Final finishing

By and large, this is where carpentry ends and art begins.

When the body is assembled and dried, we need:

  • Make from thin plywood and secure deck superstructures.

  • Extend the sides so that they protrude above the plane of the deck.
  • Cover the surface of the deck with wooden veneer or outline it with an awl, imitating plank cladding.
  • Make and install all the small parts like the steering wheel and steering blade.
  • Secure the masts with all additional devices (the so-called spar), install the sails and stretch this entire structure using rigging threads.

Finally, all plywood parts must be treated with stain and varnished. This will provide our souvenir with at least a couple of decades of preservation.

Conclusion


Almost anyone can make a simple plywood boat with their own hands - just patience and minimal skills in working with a jigsaw (read also the article). But if you want to implement a complex drawing with many small details, then you will have to work hard. That's why we recommend starting with the simplest models and gradually increasing your skill!

In the video presented in this article you will find additional information on this topic.

Similar materials

DIY ship models represent a very exciting hobby, which is now an honorable and prestigious thing to do.

Not everyone can assemble a model of a ship, no matter what its dimensions. But what comes out in the end can be a true reason to be proud of yourself. If you are interested in this topic, then our diagrams and tips will be timely and useful. When starting to engage in mini-shipbuilding, it will be useful for you to know that this activity is not a boyish whim.

Ancient crafts in the form of fine work from wooden planks, which represented different types large ships were found in the tombs of the pharaohs. It is logical that they did not send just anything on the last journey with the ruler. Accordingly, the conclusion suggests itself that either the ruler himself liked to spend his free time this way, or he was given gifts that were very dear to him personally.
Buy ship models yourself maybe ready-made. There are many craftsmen on the Internet who present ready-made works with price tags to the public. This item is purchased by collectors or those who want to give a special gift. Indeed, it will be very expensive, because you will have to “kill” a lot of time. To begin with, we advise you to acquire the necessary literature, which clearly shows each stage of the creation of your work of art. For the first test, you should always take material that you don’t mind spoiling. It could even be a ship made of papier-mâché, the main thing in this matter is that the hand does not tremble. Everything else will come with experience. Well? Good luck!

How to make models of sailing ships with your own hands?

To get started, we suggest collecting everything necessary materials, which will be useful to you in your work.

This is definitely a veneer that you need to look for in furniture production workshops. Even waste is ideal for you, you just need to look at the size and quality. There are a huge number of varieties, get one if possible. It’s good if the wood is soft, it will be easier to work with. Take whatever thickness you find, because wood is needed both thin and thick. In any case, the supply does not bring trouble, so do not hesitate to ask for more. After the veneer, start looking for good cardboard. Its thickness should also be varied: from book covers to regular children's cardboard in sets. In order to finally finish DIY ship models, You will need wrapping paper, old, unwanted wallpaper and a set of colored paper (impregnated with paint on both sides). If you are making a sailboat, you will also need slats on which the sails will be attached directly. The glue is PVA, which can glue furniture and super glue when you can’t wait any longer. To finish individual parts of the model you will need paints, which should be purchased water-based. Also, for those who are especially partial, a varnish will be needed to secure the entire process. The final touch is threads and fabrics. You choose the color of the sails and the fabric accordingly. It is desirable that it be cotton, without any synthetics. You should choose regular sewing threads, but of decent thickness (numbers 10, 40, 50). Sometimes some people advise putting wire next to the work, because it will come in handy where the awl is too thick or the needle is too thin. In general, this is everything you need for full-fledged work on the first construction.

DIY wooden ship models: diagrams and drawings

The first thing you should start working with is to decide on the size of the future ship, because this will make it easier to work with the drawing. Here is the most basic drawing that will help you organize the stages of work.

When everything is ready, it’s time to start assembling the structure, either as a whole, starting from the bottom, or step by step, working through each section. You will need patience when you need to wait for each sizing to dry, because you cannot pile new structures on a base that has not yet dried. Finishing is the most final stage, which requires almost more patience, like all previous work. Here you need to be extremely careful, because an incorrectly made smear will ruin the whole impression. Feel free to ask questions on the appropriate forums, where experienced specialists will always help you correct solution. We wish you good luck and look forward to seeing photos of your finished work, like the one in this image.