Redwood Strips
Redwood Strips
I have a rather abundent source of clear VG redwood. I would like to mill it and use it for my next canoe (Prospector). What are the problems associated with redwood and boat building???
Elmer's ProBond Interior/Exterior wood glue. often hard to find, and not to be confused with ordinary Elmer's ProBond wood glue which is a different glue entirely. The Interior/Exterior glue is ANSI Type II water resistant once cured.
In spite of their claim about easy clean up with water, don't try it. The water thins it to where it soaks into the redwood leaving a dark stain that goes much deeper than the un-thinned glue would soak into the wood. Just leave the runs and smeared excess glue on the canoe until it is fully hardened and then plane or sand it off when you're done gluing and you fair the boats surface. It took me a little bit to figure out that the water and glue combination was causing deep staining that was worse than if I hadn't tried to be so neat and clean everything up promptly.
In spite of their claim about easy clean up with water, don't try it. The water thins it to where it soaks into the redwood leaving a dark stain that goes much deeper than the un-thinned glue would soak into the wood. Just leave the runs and smeared excess glue on the canoe until it is fully hardened and then plane or sand it off when you're done gluing and you fair the boats surface. It took me a little bit to figure out that the water and glue combination was causing deep staining that was worse than if I hadn't tried to be so neat and clean everything up promptly.
In this photo the six slightly thinner red strips with the really wide grain are the redwood strips.
At the very top of the photo, after you click to enlarge it, you will notice two redwood strips glued together and see the dark line where the glue bond is. There is no dark line where the cedar is bonded or the cedar and SPF meet. Just the redwood darkened on contact with the glue.
At the very top of the photo, after you click to enlarge it, you will notice two redwood strips glued together and see the dark line where the glue bond is. There is no dark line where the cedar is bonded or the cedar and SPF meet. Just the redwood darkened on contact with the glue.
It's a little harder and heavier than the cedar I've used, but works very well for woodstrip canoes. In Minnesota in the early '70s it was the usual thing to use, partly because at that time it was cheap and readily available in 20' lengths. It took me a while to realize that there is no need to use such long lumber from old trees; joints are perfectly acceptable.
If you want to use a handplane and card scraper for fairing, redwood behaves very nicely, definitely superior to cedar. With the original titebond I don't recall any problem with visible gluelines. It does seem to darken over time.
Most of those canoes are gone, not because of the redwood, but because polyester resin was used instead of epoxy. I've still got one in reasonable shape made entirely of redwood with sitka spruce trim, with all full length strips and gunwales.
The cost of everything for my first canoe -- lumber, glass, polyester resin, hardware, even strongback and forms, cost less than $100 total. Epoxy was too expensive in that context. Now that everything else costs so much more, the epoxy cost is no big deal.
If you want to use a handplane and card scraper for fairing, redwood behaves very nicely, definitely superior to cedar. With the original titebond I don't recall any problem with visible gluelines. It does seem to darken over time.
Most of those canoes are gone, not because of the redwood, but because polyester resin was used instead of epoxy. I've still got one in reasonable shape made entirely of redwood with sitka spruce trim, with all full length strips and gunwales.
The cost of everything for my first canoe -- lumber, glass, polyester resin, hardware, even strongback and forms, cost less than $100 total. Epoxy was too expensive in that context. Now that everything else costs so much more, the epoxy cost is no big deal.
Alan
I used redwood on the deck of my kayak. The dark glue lines in the picture are from titebond II glue, I was told that regular titebond does not cause the dark lines. Over time the redwood has darkened and the glue stains look like grain lines. Kinda like staple holes only another builder notices them...at least no one has said anything.
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David James
- Posts: 223
- Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 9:04 pm
- Location: Glenview, Illinois
I'm in the middle of stripping my second canoe, a prospector, out of redwood. I used Mendards WRC for my 1st boat, and this time around I wanted to use something unique. The wood I am using for the prospector is old-growth redwood reclaimed from a water tower that was built in 1879. I cut strips from two original planks, measuring 3"x7"x14'. Its really cool stuff - machines awesome, straight grained as can be, lightweight, and a beautiful dark red/brown. The age of this wood has darkeded it considerably as well compared to newer redwood. When it wets out, it is a shade darker than mahogany, but not quite as dark as walnut. Here are a couple of pictures:
redwood strips on my lumber rack, the stems you see are made of cherry:
The second pic is a closeup, taken with a flash, and shows the grain of the redwood. I use fishing line to secure my strips to the forms. Also in the pic is my accent strip, a composite of cypress, basswood, and walnut:
Here is a stem on view:
If you have a source for redwood, use it. You won't regret it.
redwood strips on my lumber rack, the stems you see are made of cherry:
The second pic is a closeup, taken with a flash, and shows the grain of the redwood. I use fishing line to secure my strips to the forms. Also in the pic is my accent strip, a composite of cypress, basswood, and walnut:
Here is a stem on view:
If you have a source for redwood, use it. You won't regret it.