Boatnerd Discussion Forum

To get a plate into position, they would use a crane with 2 to 4 lifting hooks on the cable, hooked through the rivet holes on the upper edge of the plate, and lift it into place with those. Since plates would normally put on bottom to top, the upper edge of the plate was always clear of the plates already in position. Once it was properly aligned on the sides, then it was temporarily bolted into place, as already mentioned. Properly done, a riveted joint is 90% as strong as a welded joint or continuous plate, It does have the benefit of stopping the spread of a crack in the plate, unlike a welded plate where a crack can progressively spread through all plates welded together. It is much harder to make watertight however.

As for bending the plates, one end of the plate would be locked into a long clamp, while the other end would also be locked in a clamp, but the second clamp would be moved to bend the plate into the correct curve or shape. Ship plates typically run between one-quarter to one inch thick, so can be bent with various degrees of difficulty. Final finishing would typically be done using either a large jack hammer, or manually hammering it into the final fit.

When my dad was younger he worked at American Shipbuilding in Lorain. He and another guy would walk the scaffold on each side of the plate and inserting a bolt in every other hole, and the other guy would put the nut on. The riveting crew would come down, ream out the open holes and rivet them. Then my dad and the other guy would go back down and remove the nuts and bolts so the riveting crews could finish. This was during or shortly before the war.

JIM

i can't speak about shipbuilding but i do have experience with other steel construction [ machine tools, structures, tanks] and i would expect most methods would be common at least to a certain extent.
lift attachment can be done by using lifting clamps which are clamps that operate by cam action and lift from the edge of a plate. usual practice would to hold the plate in place from the top while it is tack welded, bolted, or riveted at locations below the top edge. once in place the clamp is removed and the plate allowed to spring into place [or be pulled into place as may be required]. temporary attachment points can be welded on and removed [ these could be bolted or riveted using existing rivet holes also] after the plate is secured. for that matter chains can be secured to holes by bolts for lifting and years ago chains were used much more that today both for lifting slings and for the cranes themselves. as to forming there are and were then methods of hot or cold bending or forging that could produce complex bends and shapes. the metal was bent and checked against templates until they got it right. very much like a blacksmith fitting a shoe on a horse.

How were the hull plates moved into place and held for riveting?

They don't seem like there would be a point to attach a plate to a crane.

How did they make turns and angles, smaller plates?