The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Yeah, tell me about the rain. :sad All last week and all this week. :crying Mowing the yard was an adventure in timing and grass clogs. Glad I don't bag. We might see the sun by time Indy runs. To remove the Turtle wax, try some carb cleaner or a automotive dewax product. Carb cleaner......is that e...

Tim , Be careful using car wax. Many car waxes will contain silicone. Sometimes the silicon will transfer to the wood. Silicone is a royal PITA to eliminate and it will ruin the finish. You won't discover the problem until you are applying finish, tell tale sign is "bird's eye". Now you wi...

Have you tried to clean the rollers? Somtimes it doesn't take much for the rollers not to grab. Have you waxed the infeed, outfedd and the cutter tables? Use a bit of Johnson's paste wax. Another possibility, the ends could be thinner than the rest of the board. Keep pushing through by hand. Lower h...

Yep, you don't have enough clamps. 20 is a good start. Plan on 2 per mold station including the stem molds. Then add about another dozen. During the construction of my canoe, I used a mess of assorted clamps and a few created clamps. Partial list. Rubber cargo straps ratcheting cargo straps loads of...

Making scuppers is all technique. I scuppered my 16' Prospector. Used an old trick from the wood lathe. Glue the inwales face to face with paper in the glue joint. Use a drill press with a Forstner bit and a simple equal spacing jig. Drill out the bulk material, clean up with a chisel. Now, split th...

Sand the area to be painted. That will give the paint something to grip. Then varnish ahs usual.

Rick, in a previous life I was a Project Engineer at a major tool manufacturer in Jackson, TN. Your best value for power and versatility is something like a PC690PK router. This package has both a fixed base and a plunge base, it has 2 collets (1/4 and 1/2), plenty of power and built for 8 hr/day us...

24 hours +

Can't apply varnish to a sticky surface.. This stuff is not like epoxy.

Read the can on re-apply time.

Jeff, your problem could be as simple as applying the varnish too thick. The clues are in your recount of the process, " It seemed to go on too thick; many sags and brush marks ." This indicates being too generous with the varnish. This is a point where two coats are truely better than 1 t...

Be careful here. If the wood is truely wet, as in not dried from harvest, then you will need to stack and sticker the wood. Lay the wood on its face with spacers between each layer. Leave a space between the bottom layer and the floor. Leasve spaces between each board. Get a moisture meter. IIRC, wo...

http://photobucket.com/albums/e171/knute45/?action=view&slideshow=true There is a hollow at that station. The strips will have a bit of a "recurve" in that area. Think of a recurve bow. This may be a good time to triple check your station spacing. This area will require some creative c...

Bassbug, Yes, I have a big connection to Texas. My mother was born in San Antonio and is currently retired there. My father helped find the mesquite. The pecan came from a good freind in New Boston, TX just west of Texarkana. The strange thing is the canoe was built in Jackson, TN and the maiden voy...

Jeff, Dust control is a problem for anyone who works wood. A couple of tips. 1.) don't sweep, use a vacuum 2.) vacuum everything (including yourself) 3.) Air cleaner. Delta, Jet, Ryobi, Rigid....all make these things. You can build one from a discarded furnace fan/motor and an air filter. Run it whi...

I built without staples consruction. I made two "L" shaped brackets for each station. I also made small wedges to match the cove of the strips, one for each L. The wedges were cut from the bead side of scrap strips using a bandsaw, shallow angle. The L was C-clamped onto the station to pul...

http://photobucket.com/albums/e171/knut ... eshow=true

Don't know if this will work, but try the direct link. I'm sure Glen doesn't want large pics clogging up this site.

:eyebrows