3/23 and 3/24/07
Chine Strip and first Cove and Bead Strip
Hey y’all internet freaks!
I started the beginning of building the rails this weekend and this is the first step for me that I really got the idea of the shape of the board because it really started taking on the look of a board with the chine strip as an outline.
Chine Strip and first Cove and Bead Strip
Hey y’all internet freaks!
I started the beginning of building the rails this weekend and this is the first step for me that I really got the idea of the shape of the board because it really started taking on the look of a board with the chine strip as an outline.
All done to the sounds of UB 40's earliest music......nice!
I’m gonna make some recommendations before I talk about what I did. Firstly, it might be best to cut a rough outline of the board before or just after the chine strip stage. If you do, use a band saw if you can because the wood splits really easy with most handsaws that I have used. In doing this, I also recommend using good spring hand clamps. In fact, if you take on this project it would be best to have all the clamps necessary, it’s just easier and better. But the spring clamps wont reach in to clamp the first cove and bead strip to the bottom planks if you don’t cut some of the bottom planks off. I would leave an inch of bottom plank around the board’s outline (chine strip). You won’t need them for the chine strip as the cut out tabs in the cross members hold it down just fine.
Now, I left my whole gig on the rocker table with all the supports and shims still in place and haven’t taken it off of there as said to in my instruction sheet. I don’t know why you would, but it made sense to leave it on there to at least hold the form better. It’s not clamped to it and sprung up a bit from it, but if I laid it out on a flat surface I picture some spring loaded disaster with wood splinters flying like a nine pounder cannon shot fired from some frigate of old hitting a gunwale.
Also from the pics you’ll notice my wonderful glue job of the frame to the deck. It looks fucking ugly, but its as sound as a pound. You can tell that it started to dry before I got it all clamped and then got pressed out of its dried outer shell as it got squeezed, that’s why I slopped on the extra, which was difficult to do around all those strappings and clamps, hence the mess, but you are the only ones going to see it and the pictures will be the only evidence of the mess once the top planks go on. So, shhhhhhhhh! You can also get an idea of the kink in the chine and cove and bead at the first cross member. It’s not so bad and surely will sand off. Also, the joint at the tip of the nose is crap. It’s my first time and since I was working from the tail forward, the tip at the nose is the spot that had to be cut last done with a tiny little Japanese woodworking saw. No worries though, I might put a wood block on the nose anywhoo.
Steaming is difficult. What I did for the chine strips is stuck the front 3 feet in a plastic poster mailing tube with boiling water for about a ½ an hour and then steamed them after all but the front 8 inches had been clamped up. That might have made them too soft, hence the binding at the first cross member. But I still like the idea of soaking them in boiling water. It didn’t affect the glue at all. Just took longer to dry. I didn’t do it for the cove and bead strips, but might for the next set.
The Chine strip process took about 1.5 hours and aobut 8 to dry because of the wet strip. At a few cross members I had to “shoe horse” the strip under with a small chisel and had to chisel a tiny bit off of the strip at the second X member. This step also showed me how “off” a few of the X members were. But I don’t see that as a major impact on board shape at this point. As long as the chine strips look good a slight bend here and there can be sanded out a bit. I guess we’ll see with the finished product!
Cove and bead strip went well but needs to be clamped better to the bottom planks and that is why I was stressing the spring clamps as the PVC ones aren’t that strong to fully pull the strip against the planks.
Have a great weekend everyone, I’m off to yet another party. Unfortunately, I got green lung and don’t feel like partying, just feel like working on my board! So, I might not even go! Spanky will kill me though if I don’t show up!!!
I’m gonna make some recommendations before I talk about what I did. Firstly, it might be best to cut a rough outline of the board before or just after the chine strip stage. If you do, use a band saw if you can because the wood splits really easy with most handsaws that I have used. In doing this, I also recommend using good spring hand clamps. In fact, if you take on this project it would be best to have all the clamps necessary, it’s just easier and better. But the spring clamps wont reach in to clamp the first cove and bead strip to the bottom planks if you don’t cut some of the bottom planks off. I would leave an inch of bottom plank around the board’s outline (chine strip). You won’t need them for the chine strip as the cut out tabs in the cross members hold it down just fine.
Now, I left my whole gig on the rocker table with all the supports and shims still in place and haven’t taken it off of there as said to in my instruction sheet. I don’t know why you would, but it made sense to leave it on there to at least hold the form better. It’s not clamped to it and sprung up a bit from it, but if I laid it out on a flat surface I picture some spring loaded disaster with wood splinters flying like a nine pounder cannon shot fired from some frigate of old hitting a gunwale.
Also from the pics you’ll notice my wonderful glue job of the frame to the deck. It looks fucking ugly, but its as sound as a pound. You can tell that it started to dry before I got it all clamped and then got pressed out of its dried outer shell as it got squeezed, that’s why I slopped on the extra, which was difficult to do around all those strappings and clamps, hence the mess, but you are the only ones going to see it and the pictures will be the only evidence of the mess once the top planks go on. So, shhhhhhhhh! You can also get an idea of the kink in the chine and cove and bead at the first cross member. It’s not so bad and surely will sand off. Also, the joint at the tip of the nose is crap. It’s my first time and since I was working from the tail forward, the tip at the nose is the spot that had to be cut last done with a tiny little Japanese woodworking saw. No worries though, I might put a wood block on the nose anywhoo.
Steaming is difficult. What I did for the chine strips is stuck the front 3 feet in a plastic poster mailing tube with boiling water for about a ½ an hour and then steamed them after all but the front 8 inches had been clamped up. That might have made them too soft, hence the binding at the first cross member. But I still like the idea of soaking them in boiling water. It didn’t affect the glue at all. Just took longer to dry. I didn’t do it for the cove and bead strips, but might for the next set.
The Chine strip process took about 1.5 hours and aobut 8 to dry because of the wet strip. At a few cross members I had to “shoe horse” the strip under with a small chisel and had to chisel a tiny bit off of the strip at the second X member. This step also showed me how “off” a few of the X members were. But I don’t see that as a major impact on board shape at this point. As long as the chine strips look good a slight bend here and there can be sanded out a bit. I guess we’ll see with the finished product!
Cove and bead strip went well but needs to be clamped better to the bottom planks and that is why I was stressing the spring clamps as the PVC ones aren’t that strong to fully pull the strip against the planks.
Have a great weekend everyone, I’m off to yet another party. Unfortunately, I got green lung and don’t feel like partying, just feel like working on my board! So, I might not even go! Spanky will kill me though if I don’t show up!!!
1 comment:
Steaming can be done with the same method you used for straightening your planks - a clothes iron and damp rags. Just wet the strip that you want to bend, lay a wet rag over just the section that you need to be flexible and iron it. Steam ensues. You can even glue all the easy parts of the strip, and do the steaming with it in place.
If you make the strip very, very flexible by steaming longer than needed, it is possible to bend it really sharply by accident, especially at the frames. If you get it this flexible, start bending slowly, and apply a spring clamp as the member begins to curve, then another a little farther on (still bending) and another etc. You are bending the piece very slowly and securing it as you go to keep if from kinking.
Looks great so far!
Brad
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