The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I tried a mortise and tenon. First I made a mortise with a chisel, then I cut a tenon using the table saw, just nibbling away. I didn't even bother to put on my dado blade. It didn't seem overly difficult. I can't say that my mortise was pretty or perfect, but I got a tight fit. Since I'd only have ...

I think I'll try a practice mortise and see how it goes.

thanks

One thing I was wondering is if it's common to have the sides of the seats angled. ie wider towards the middle and narrower towards the end. And yes, maybe the lap joint is a great way to go. The crossmember would go beneath the side pieces, right? since the crossmembers transmit the load to the hul...

I'm thinking about how I would like to make my seat frames. Ideally I would like to do a mortise and tenon but I'm not so sure that I can do a very good mortise. I don't have a drill press and I don't have a plunge router. I'm pretty sure that if I tried to do a mortise by hand that it would be pret...

What are some pros and cons between black webbing on seats as opposed to woven cane? My instinct is that the webbing may actually be more comfortable. The cane of course looks better and more traditional. Does anyone know of any guides on how to best make a seat with webbing? Any idea if the webbing...

Yes, just to be clear:
I used S3 regular epoxy on the kayak hull (cool temps, no blush)
I used S3 Silvertip epoxy on the kayak deck (warmer temps, easy application)
I'm going to use S3 Silvertip for the canoe

Hi Tim, I decided to not do any glassing. The weather has turned really foul and it's not worth the headache of working in cooler temperatures. However, I can relate some experiences when I built a s&g kayak two years ago. I was using System Three regular epoxy. Some of my gluing was done at 8°C...

Yeah, I'm using the Silvertip. I've used the regular S3 epoxy down to 12°C (54F) and the silvertip is less viscous.

I'm all set and pumped to start pre-coating tonight and fiberglassing tomorrow. However, the cruel hand of fate has once again dealt its hand and the temperatures have plummeted. I think I can get the shop 16°C. I've glassed at this temp before but I also know that it is easier to glass above 20°C. ...

thanks Glen. I assume that you use a shop-vac or equivalent? Which attachment (if any) do you use? I know these are kind of dumb questions because I'll find out for myself but sometimes it's nice to get pointed in the right direction. For example, if your experience shows that a brush attachment wor...

Hi, What do you like to use to wipe down the hull prior to fiberglassing? I've vacuumed the hull but there is a lot of fine dust that needs to be wiped off. I'm not sure water is the best for the final wipe because it may raise the grain again? On the other hand, acetone might dry too fast for effic...

Hey Larry, it's looking good.

What do you do with the fiberglass roller when you were finished, just soak it in a tray of solvent? Did it need a cleaning mid-way through the glassing?

cheers!

Yeah, the white Winisk looks great. Especiallly with lighter colored trim.

Here's my take on HVLP spraying. I was one of the guys discussing it on West Coast Paddlers. I also have some info on it on my blog: spraying wr-lpu I can echo some of John's comments in that there is a lot of air movement and the setup and cleanup takes longer than the spraying. As well, spraying w...

Thanks guys.

Where do you get a soft interface pad? I've seen one on the Newfound woodworks website, that's the only one I've seen

cheers