Machining Strips

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zpeteman
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:28 pm
Location: Florida

Machining Strips

Post by zpeteman »

I have machined all my own strips with little to no problems for the most part, however, on one previous board and then again on a board I cut today I have ended up wasting an entire board due to this issue. The problem is that when I run the strip through the router jig to cut the bead/cove that sometimes if the grain of the wood is 'loose' then the wood will begin to split away and peel a wide section off along the grain and ruin the strip. It seems that if this is an issue with one strip from a board that I might as well throw them all away as it will ruin all the strips from that board.

Is this common? Is there a way to avoid this? When I pick out my boards from the lumber yard I try to find those in which the grain is very tightly packed but sometimes the pickin's are slim. It's tough enough to find 12-16 feet of cedar with no knots, having to be so choosy about the tightness of the grain as well really limits my choices.

Any help you gentlemen can offer is greatly appreciated.
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

I run into this problem occasionaly myself. I am routing some strips these days and once in a while I get several strips that have a chunk torn out. Upon closer inspection these strips show wild grain that runs off the edge of the strip. This is something I can't really detect when I buy the boards because they are rough lumber.

I haven't tried this myself but some builders rout their strips in the reverse direction, that's right, push them through the router in the "wrong" direction. You have to use good, tightly adjusted featherboards or you will be launching strips into orbit, don't stand in the way if you try this technique. :frightened
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Jim Dodd
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Post by Jim Dodd »

Were your boards "Slash cut" or "Quarter sawn" ? If they were quartersawn, you might be out of luck.

We just Beaded and coved strips for a friend, one of his planks was quartersawn, after trying about 4 strips, we gave up!

When ever you machine strips, a certain amount will be flawed! I try and cut plenty of extra!

I haven't tried Glen's idea, but it sounds good!
Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Jim, that is not "Glen's idea". I don't want to be blamed if someone gets injured. :shocked

I believe this technique is called "climb cutting" and anyone who thinks about trying it should get all the information possible before attempting it.

John Michne seems to use this technique and provides some info on his website: http://www.michneboat.com/Making%20Strips.htm

Go down to a bit below the page center.
Snowman
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Location: Gatineau, QC

Post by Snowman »

I have tried climb cutting and got good results. I did not use feather boards, but rather built myself a guide/control jig which I could adjust the "fit" of the strips to give a sufficient amount of friction. It worked quite well, but it was a lot of fiddling around to get the right set up. I do not claim my set-up to be fool proof (but at least it was good enough for one...). As Glen noted, climb cutting can be potentially dangerous - be sure you trust your set up.


Snowman
Snowman back East
artistwood
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Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 6:08 am
Location: bloomington, indiana

climb cutting

Post by artistwood »

a friend of mine tried this and launched a 12' strip over 250 feet! it is dangerous. two reasons i know of for tearing out chunks are dull bits (i sharpen the bits even when new with a diamond hone) and feeding so fast that the bit can't keep up. it's easy to feed the strips too fast, one right after the other and cedar does have a tendency to split.
good luck and remember that featherboards are our friend! :smile
the voyages are the memories waiting to happen, the destination is the place we collect them...barry "bear" taylor
KenC
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Location: Oakville, ON

Post by KenC »

I used the climb-cutting method, and it worked well ... very few wasted strips. But as has already been mentioned, it is an inherently more dangerous method, for several reasons. I would NEVER do this with hardwood, but would do it again without hesitation with cedar.

I set up multiple featherboards and guides, and adjusted them tightly enough that I still had to push the strips through. When feeding, I never let my fingers get within about 24" of the bit, in case one of the strips went for a launch. And I set up the arrangement, so that if a strip was launched, it would shatter itself against a nearby concrete wall. I've heard of launched strips penetrating drywall and ending up in the next room. Yikes.
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Jim Dodd
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Post by Jim Dodd »

Sorry Glen!
Thanks for the disclaimer!

When ever tools, wether they are power or hand tools, caution should be exercised!

As Norm says.
Read and follow the manufacturers instructions. And always wear safety glasses!

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
zpeteman
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:28 pm
Location: Florida

Post by zpeteman »

Thanks for the input. I actually did think of the reverse feeding idea and tried it out to experiment, but it made me nervous so I canned it.

I guess this is just one of those things. Like I said 90 percent of my strips have come out fine, guess I'm just being too picky.
John K
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Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 5:46 pm
Location: Tasmania

Post by John K »

I too routed my strips on the climb. I built a housing through which I fed my strips with two featherboards before the router. Not one strip flew and all were easily controlled, and all were pushed through at an easy feed rate with the aid of the pull of the router. I can recommend it as the cove comes out far better than the normal way.
JohnK
John K
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