The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Thanks to all who replied with advice and tips... There is truly a lot of information to digest here. If time permits I'm going to try all the techniques and tools mentioned above, if for nothing else than to expand my knowledge. Thanks again to everyone!

Hi John, From the picture it looks like you're getting the most out of the pro prep. You seem to be able to get nice shavings as opposed to the sheddings I talked about earlier - do you find this so even with the softer woods? Do you also sharpen the beveled edge with the 600 grit wet paper, or do y...

Hi Kent, Have you been using your propreps on subsequent boats? And how do you find their performance if so? The packaging that mine came in said it could be sharpened with a file so that's what I've been using. I just pass the file over the curve of the blade VERY lightly, but many times to get a s...

Thanks for providing the source Glen. When you sharpen your scraper do you use these diamond stones like a file - running them over the scraper blade, or do you set the stones on your bench and sharpen the blade on them like you would a plane blade - or does it matter? Thanks.
Jason

Hi David, I have an oil stone but I find my results vary with it. I've just been using a file to sharpen my pro prep. Where can I find one of these diamond stones? Is there a brand I should look for? I live in a small town so I often have trouble finding anything beyond your basic tools and accessor...

Thanks for the advice. I look forward to getting to that wetting down stage (which seems so far away)! I think I'm getting better at the scraping... there's still lots of shredding, but I'm finding with lighter passes it's not as bad. Maybe I was so excited to see the inside of the canoe for the fir...

Thanks Rod,

So the shredding is normal?

Jason

Thanks to all for the quick response! I'd say that the scraper is "shredding" more than removing actual large chunks of wood. So i don't know if this is what's supposed to be happening or not. All I do know is that the surface of the planks is very rough and "shredded" as opposed...

I should mention that the strips I'm using were purchased through a classified add. I got a great deal on them, and they were all routered and in excellent condition overall. The only thing is that the man I purchased them from had them stored in his garage for about 7 years (he had always intended ...

Hi there, I'm now shaping the inside after outside glassing. I've searched earlier posts on this topic, and as a result I purchased a pro prep scraper with the curved blade for scraping the inside. I spent a good 1/2 hour sharpening the blade with a file, but I'm still getting tear out of the wood f...

Hi all, I was recently presented with the idea of installing my outwales prior to shaping/glassing the inside. I'm at the point where the outside has been glassed and sanded and I'm about to take the hull of the molds. It was suggested to me that once the hull is off the molds and upright, I install...

Glen,
You mention above that your fairing board is an automotive type. If I may ask, is it a 3M purchased at Canadian Tire? I've looked around my area and this was the only fairing board I could find. You seem to have had success with it, do you recommend it? Thanks,
jason

I called the "company". They don't have a website. It's basically a one-man operation. He's a very nice gentleman who gives canoe building lessons and sells forms/canoes accessories etc. He custom built the roof rack accessory himself, and he said he might be willing make one on order if s...

Hi Glen, Yes, sorry, my name is Jason. 83glt is the year and model of my first car that I recently bid a sad farewell to, and I have the habit of using that as my online "identity" in memory of it. I contacted Island Coatings and I was told I could sand the epoxy any time after 24 hours so...

Hi Wilk, I just spotted a Toyota SUV in my office parking lot with a company logo "CanaCanoe Cedar Canoes" on it. It had a Toyota factory roof rack on it, but the rack had custom built wooden cross bar covers on it and it looked really cool. The phone number on the truck indicated it was a...