Strip dimensions???

[knehdn]

Hi. Though I've been a paddler all my life, I've now the time to delve into the world of canoe building. I'm presently building the strongback back for either Bob's Special or a Prospector, but my concern is regarding the dimension of the hull material.
I've come across a supply of WRC, but apparenlty it's heavily dressed 2x4's x 20'.
In order to have as little waste as possible and to maintain a 1/4" thick strip, I'll need to rip on both axes, and will end up with 5/8", or perhaps a maximum of 11/16" wide strips after milling the beads and coves. Other than the obvious, i.e. needing more strips, staples, glue, labour, etc. to finish the hull, can anyone forsee any other drawbacks in using these narrower strips?
Please and thank you.
Gabe

[sedges]

The 1X clear cedar I get from BC comes dressed to about 11/16. You will have a much fairer hull around the tight curves in the bilge with narrower strips. I would recommend resawing with a band saw, especially spliting the 1 1/2 inch piece in two. I use a light band of .025" stock probably makes about a .040" kerf(1/25").

[Woodchuck]

IMHO I would invest in a thin kerf saw blade if not using a bandsaw to save valuable wood. The standard table saw blades are 1/8" thick and a thin kerf will give you 1-3 more strips out of a board depending on how wide a board you start out with. WRC is getting to be fibrous gold and sawdust never made anything useful that we can build in our shops...
CYA, Joe

[knehdn]

I do indeed plan on using my bandsaw for the ripping. As I mentioned, they are 'heavily' dressed. They are not true 1 1/2" boards, so I'll probably rip a couple of 5/16" pieces along the 3+" side, then cut everything into strips. I do know this, that I don't want to end up with any strips less than 1/4" thick. I'd rather rip proud then plane, than rip tight. It should all work out in the end.
Thanks for the input. I'll keep you informed.
Gabe

[Tom in MN]

Any dimension will work, from 1/2 inch to 13/16 inch wide. Strip thickness from 3/16 to 1/4 will work as well. The key is everything being consistent. the problem with ripping with a bandsaw is consistent thickness. You get a lot of blade deflection with a bandsaw so the wood can vary in thickness. If you cut wide then plane, you end up losing more wood than one pass on the table saw (in my opinion) and it takes two steps.
There a many ways to make strips. Do what gives you the most consistant dimensions. For me, that is the table saw.

Good luck

[Bassbug]

Gabe,

I use 2X stock of WRC. I rip then thickness plane to get 5/8" thick stock, then rip to 1/4" thickness. I actually prefer the more narrow strips (5/8 over 3/4) for two reasons: 1) it makes fairing a bit easier and 2) I like the look of narrow strips.

Welcome to the most addicting building experience in your life. I'm finishing a 15' Ranger with a friend - my third boat with three more boats planned...

Dale

[sedges]

I have been using a standard 14" band saw(Rockwell, now Delta) to rip consistent strips. I use a 3/4" wide band. A band this wide is literally trapped in the kerf and does not wander at all. I rip right to 1/4" with no need to plane. Band Saw must be well maintained and in good adjustment and bands must be clean and sharp. I keep a band separate for ripping strips until I feel the increase in necessary pressure to feed stock, then a use it for other, rougher jobs. A band will last me for 15000 feet of strips and sometimes more. I've ripped hundreds of thousnds of feet of strips this way over the years and recommend it.

[trainwreck]

Any reccomendations for bandsaw blades that will give a clean enough cut?

[sedges]

The band I use the most is sold by Delta. Catalog # 28-040. This is for their standard 14 saw (93 1/2" long). 3/4" wide 4TPI .022" thick. It has a very shallow hook tooth, almost a chisel- tooth that makes a dairly smooth cut.

I don't know what you would define as "smooth enogh", but this has always worked well for me(14 boats) and all the folks I've milled strips for over the years. Strips don't have to have a "finished" surface. You are going to get glue all over them, scape them and fair out the angles to a smooth curve before you need to put a finished surface on the strips. As long as the strips are of consistent thickness and there are no saw marks they work just fine.

Like I said above, you need to learn to set up and adjust your saw very carefully. Band saws need good tuning to work right. It doesn't take long, nor is it difficult. It will yield the most strips with the least waste out of very valuable wood.

[Fred G]

Only problem I've had with narrow strips is finding a stapler to tack them down with. With a little guile, you can figure it out.

[Glen Smith]

When the strips are too narrow for staples you can use small nails driven through pads of wood. An Added benefit is: only one hole per strip per form.

[knehdn]

Thanks for all the input folks. I'll pick up a 3/4" blade and try out a setup next week. I'll let you know how it works for me.
Gabe

[Denis]

Is this the place you mean

[Tom in MN]

Sedges,

What do you use for infeed and outfeed for ripping with bandsaw? I have a 14" Delta saw and never thought of using it to rip strips, but I am intrigued. Can you stack boards and gang rip? Do you build with bead and cove or flat edged strips? Have you encountered any problems putting a B & C on bandsaw ripped strips?


Thanks

[knehdn]

Well, I have the same bandsaw. I'm going to grab a 3/4" blade today and try it out on some scrap. Then I plan on making an oversized table. The boards I'm looking at have been dressed to just under 1 1/2" by just under 3 1/2" and are 20' long. So I'll need to see just how to get the most strips with the least amount of waste. With the 3/4" blade, I should be able to rip a couple of 1/4" x 3 1/2" pieces, leaving me about 7/8" or less X about 3 1/2" to rip into 1/4" strips. Whatever the final dimensions end up at, I'll rip them all the same.
I bought four of those workmate folding workstand/sawhorse things with cranks that move the two table halves in and out. They had them on for 10 bucks a piece, regular $30 (at CTC- if anyone one north of the 49th. is interested). Made offshore, but what the hell. Couldn't resist. I might even buy a couple more. Takes 15 minutes to assemble. Couldn't make wooden sawhorses that quickly or that cheap. These will allow me to set up infeed and outfeed tables for my bandsaw and tablesaw and router table, etc. to whatever height I may need just by clamping some 1X8's or whatever at the desired height.
I don't think I'll do any multi-board, gang-type rips, cuz with 20 footers, I think I'll have enough on my hands with one board at a time. And yes, I do plan on milling the beads and coves with a router. Now that I think of it, I still need to make a router table too. Neverending, eh?
Mind you, I'm still at the very baby stages, and because is so friggin' cold these days,
-19C or so today, everything is basically still in my head. Then again, they've been in my head for the past 20+ years.
We'll see how I progress.
Gabe