Stem Action

I was pretty tired this morning but still managed a productive day today. A call to the shop this morning revealed that my Veining bit had just arrived. I went in to pick it up & then dropped it off at Rick's factory (he was out on an installation today, so I couldn't mill my planks just yet). On the way home I stopped off at Bunnings to suss out some different glue, since my experiment a few days ago didn't go so well (way too flexible). After dithering and fussing for ages, I eventually decided to give "Selleys Aquadhere Durabond" a go.
I raced home and immediately set up another experiment, namely the flat planking panel that I'd arranged before. At least this glue seemed a lot less messy. Again, I tried the four different types of tape, so I could find out which ones will release the easiest.




Then it was finally time to get my stems under way. I dragged out my table saw & ripped the off-cut lengths of cedar to the correct width for the stem laminates. Using my flash new hole-saw kit, I then bored some holes in both stem molds, to receive the clamps. After that, it was a simple matter of jiggling all the strips into place, clamping them down & checking for alignment.

This is the Bow Stem........



.....and this is the Stern Stem.



I was particularly impressed with the angled fit I achieved with the short, vertical sections. These I trimmed using my new Japanese pull saw and I couldn't be happier with the job it did.

I was all fired up to go ahead & glue these bits today, but reckoned that I really should wait for the test results of the new glue & tape. I'd hate to plank the boat, only to find I can't get any of the molds out afterward.

So, there we are. On the verge of making a huge breakthrough in progress. Over the next couple of days I intend to order my fiberglass and resin, and on the weekend I'll get these stem laminations glued up. I'll also do a final check on the alignment of the rest of the intermediate molds, as a couple of them look a bit suss.
With all that lot done, next week I can mill my planking stock & finally start planking.

Test Time

At last I have started messing around with some cedar. My good friend has really kicked a goal for me by providing me with all the beautiful, clear grained cedar blades that I need. He even helped me rip the 25mm blades in half yesterday and advised me on some glue to use. He also tried to set me up on his router so as to mill the cove edges, but unfortunately the cove bit that I'd ordered turned out to be the wrong thing. (I've since ordered the correct one, namely a 4.8mm "Veining" bit & will hopefully have by Tuesday). As if all that isn't enough, he's further told me to see him before I buy any timber for this boat, as he said he'll probably have something I could use laying around.
The bloke is a true gentleman.

Speaking of helpful characters, last night I went over to my brother in law's house and he generously gave me some glue to try on the build. It's a grey, waterproof adhesive/sealant (sort of like Sikaflex). Not sure of its suitability yet, so I spent today experimenting with it a bit.

Firstly, I made up a laminating jig and had a go at laminating up a pretend stem. I also utilised various types of tape, to see which ones the work sticks to & which ones it doesn't. It was bloody messy work and the strakes kept sliding out of alignment, but it's all done now. We'll see how it turns out.




Then I wanted to make up a "test panel", which is recommended in Gary's book. Using some offcuts, I made up a couple of simulated molds and some little planking strakes. I stapled the first strake and will now wait until I finalise my decision on what glue to use, before I finish it & fiberglass it all.



I then went on to scarf a couple of lengths of cedar together, to try & make a decent fairing batten.



I'm now entering a crap part of my roster at work from tomorrow, which means that I only get next Tuesday off. I plan to make as much progress as I can on that day, so that on my next spell off (the following week), I should be able to finally start planking. I'm very keen to get this boat built within the next couple of months.

Movement at the Station

Well, I can't believe it but I've finally finished fixing up my old cat & sold it. This means that I can actually get on with the canoe build. I didn't get what I'd have liked for it, but I'm not too upset. I opted for a quick sale and achieved a reasonable price. It should be enough to keep me going for a while.

I haven't been completely idle. My cedar situation has resolved itself, thanks to a good friend (Rick Boylan) who owns a local business (Shapes Shading Solutions) that manufactures high quality plantation shutters (including cedar shutters). He also happens to be an exceptionally good boatbuilder, and has offered his valuable guidance and help if needed (which I'm sure it will be). Apparently, the blades for the ceadr plantation shutters are 4mm wide, whilst the planking is specified as 6mm. Yet again I emailed Gary (the designer), who patiently informed me that 4mm is fine & that I could put an extra layer of fiberglass inside if I was worried. Rick's stock is about 40mm wide (plans specifiy 19mm), with a rounded "bead" at each edge. He gave me a sample, which I tried against the molds, and found the wider width to be too much. So my plan is to rip the planks in half & use a trimmer with a 4mm "cove" bit, to mill the new cut edges, giving me pretty much exactly what I need. As a bonus, Rick has generously offered me the use of his machinery in his factory to do the work. He hasn't yet given me a price for the cedar, but he assures me that it'll be "cheap as chips". I now hope to source the trimmer bit over the next few days and drop into his factory this Thursday & get the job done.

Further, upon further sussing out of my next steps, I discovered a stuff up on my part. The instructions say to use 12mm ply for the molds. This I did, including both of the stem molds. Unfortunately, I neglected to notice that the stem molds are each supposed to accept a 25mm x 25mm permanent inner stem. In short, both of my stem molds were too narrow.



No big deal really. Today I simply removed each stem mold assembly & doubled up the central parts with more 12mm ply. They are now 24mm wide, which is still 1mm too narrow, but I'm not very concerned about 1mm. This seems to have also firmed up the ends of the set up significantly, which is a relief because it did feel a bit flimsy before. Anyway, they're now both all ready for the inner stems.



So there we are. Not earth shattering progress, but at least things should get moving again at last. I have leave comming up in another 6 or 7 weeks time & I've decided that it'd be pretty cool if I could get this canoe built & in the water by then.

I guess we see........