I’m getting ready for laminating the inner stern & bow of my canoe and curious about best wood to use. I see that Ash seems quite popular for this on most Forum, so, what is the advantage in using hard wood versus softer wood like spruce or cedar??
Since I’m starting a Traveler canoe, and like the redbird, it required good bending to laminate the inner stern, I would prefer to select the best wood for this task.
Gaetan.
Best wood for my Stern & Bow lamination???
Gaetan,
Inner stems - pick a softwood, mostly for its workability. You will end up shaping off much of the material, and I find that it is important to be able to easily shape the inner stem. Cedar is a very good choice because it is easy to work, and is very light. Any other softwood will work as well, but it might be slightly more dense, or less "workable". If you plan on doing a dry heat bend, I recommend that you accomplish this with thinner strips - it will make this task easier. Insteady of 4 strips 1/4" thick, you might want to accomplish the same thickness with 5 or even 6 strips if you find that part of the stem curvature is a tight radius. This is likely not necessary if you plan on doing a steam bend. Plse note that I have not bent much other than cedar and pine (white).
Outer stems - you want a hardwood for durability. Ash is a very good choice as it is a hardwood that is easy to bend and quite easy to shape as well. I find that for a given thickness and the same radius, ash is easier to bend than cedar using a dry heat bend. I have used only ash, but I am sure that there are other folks out there who will tell of their successful use of other hardwoods. I recommend that if you can easily get it, use ash (you likely have no problem in Montreal area).
Snowman
Inner stems - pick a softwood, mostly for its workability. You will end up shaping off much of the material, and I find that it is important to be able to easily shape the inner stem. Cedar is a very good choice because it is easy to work, and is very light. Any other softwood will work as well, but it might be slightly more dense, or less "workable". If you plan on doing a dry heat bend, I recommend that you accomplish this with thinner strips - it will make this task easier. Insteady of 4 strips 1/4" thick, you might want to accomplish the same thickness with 5 or even 6 strips if you find that part of the stem curvature is a tight radius. This is likely not necessary if you plan on doing a steam bend. Plse note that I have not bent much other than cedar and pine (white).
Outer stems - you want a hardwood for durability. Ash is a very good choice as it is a hardwood that is easy to bend and quite easy to shape as well. I find that for a given thickness and the same radius, ash is easier to bend than cedar using a dry heat bend. I have used only ash, but I am sure that there are other folks out there who will tell of their successful use of other hardwoods. I recommend that if you can easily get it, use ash (you likely have no problem in Montreal area).
Snowman
Snowman back East
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Glen Smith
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
- Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada
For inner stems I use cedar, pine or spruce. For outer stems I have used ash and/or walnut. The thinner you cut the laminations, the easier it is to bend them. Using a softwood for the inner stems means they will be easier to shape and as Snowman said, there is a lot of shaping to do. Hardwood outer stems are more durable.
I used Western Yellow Cedar for the inner stems. It is easy to bend, light, usually found with few imperfections, very stable and carves very well. One drawback is that it might not be so easy to get in your part of the country. If I were in the Eastern part of the USA or Canada, I think I would try to find some good White Cedar(Arborvitae). It has a long tradition of use in the canoe industry and is an excellent wood. It is light, bends like a dream and carves like butter.
For the outer stems I like to use Cherry. The last canoe I built I used Japanese cherry (which is quite common on the west coast) for the outer stems, seats and outer gunwales. But I found it a bit iffy to bend as it has a lot of twist and run-out. However, it is a very beautiful wood when all varnished up.
Black Cherry is another traditional wood used, especially in wood/canvas construction, for the inner inner stem as is White Ash. The ash is not as rot resistant as some of the other woods mentioned but is excellent to bend, tough, flexable and stable. Rot should not be a problem as it will be covered with epoxy anyways. I also like the contrast Black Cherry has with the lighter Red Cedar used for the planking.
As you can see by the varied answers, there is a variety of woods that could be put to use. I think one can safely say that the choice should really be made with an eye towards color and an appealing grain pattern. This can go a long way toward achieving a balanced, attractive and unified appearance to your finished canoe.
For the outer stems I like to use Cherry. The last canoe I built I used Japanese cherry (which is quite common on the west coast) for the outer stems, seats and outer gunwales. But I found it a bit iffy to bend as it has a lot of twist and run-out. However, it is a very beautiful wood when all varnished up.
Black Cherry is another traditional wood used, especially in wood/canvas construction, for the inner inner stem as is White Ash. The ash is not as rot resistant as some of the other woods mentioned but is excellent to bend, tough, flexable and stable. Rot should not be a problem as it will be covered with epoxy anyways. I also like the contrast Black Cherry has with the lighter Red Cedar used for the planking.
As you can see by the varied answers, there is a variety of woods that could be put to use. I think one can safely say that the choice should really be made with an eye towards color and an appealing grain pattern. This can go a long way toward achieving a balanced, attractive and unified appearance to your finished canoe.
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KARKAUAI
- Posts: 362
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 3:06 pm
- Location: Hickory, NC / Princeville, Kauai, HI
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I used mahogany (Brazilian) for inner and outer stems. I had a hard time with the steaming process on the first canoe and opted for 1/8" laminations on the second canoe. The thinner laminations bent without any steam or heat, but my stems arent as curved as yours will be. Dry heat works great, I'll never steam again (I know, never say "never"). I used dry heat to coax my ash gunwales into place (Hawaiian canoe has 2 1/4" high by 1/2" wide gunwales), and it was a piece of cake.
A hui ho,
Kent
Kent