staple holes

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leave_notrace
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staple holes

Post by leave_notrace »

I am building my first strip canoe out of red wood that I salvaged from a construction job I was involved in. I just finished pulling the millions of staples and am wondering what the best option is for filling the pesky little holes. I have heard two frames of thought about this and am wondering which one is better or if there is a better way alltogether. The first method is to wet the entire canoe with a sponge and dry it with a hair dryer. I am somewhat hesitant about this because i fear that it will leave ugly blotches where the water did not dry evenly. The other method is to mix fine saw dust with watered down wood glue and use it as filler. I am also hesitant to use this method because i am scared that the color will not match compleatly and the holes will be excentuated. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

You do not have to do anything. These will be filled and sealed when you apply the epoxy/fibreglass.

Mark
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
SpiveyMtnMan
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Post by SpiveyMtnMan »

I think it's best to seal the entire boat with a coat of epoxy and let it cure before the actual glassing procedure. If you don't, the staple holes often times will be a constant source of air under the glass as the resin moves into the holes forcing air out. I think the heat generated by the epoxy curing adds to the problem, and is why you must continually monitor the glassing process until the resin becomes plastic. If it's under glass it is trapped and must be dealt with. By wetting it all out first and allowing it to cure, the problem is minimized or eliminated.
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leave_notrace
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Post by leave_notrace »

Thank you for your replies. I will make sure to wet the canoe before adding the glass. My original question was more geard towards hiding the visual aspect of the holes. I am just trying to eliminate as much as possible the stary night look when i am potaging. maybe this is enevitable when using staples. but i would like to try to eliminate it as much as possible. i am thinking about using a stapleless system for my next canoe, but since this was my first canoe i wanted to get the basic technique down before making things too dificult for myself. thanks again for your quick responses.
Rick
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Post by Rick »

There are water-based wood fillers available that others have had some success with. You'll have to make sure that the filler does not stain the surrounding wood deeply by making tests beforehand, otherwise the results could be bad, especially after fiberglassing.

Oil-based fillers are out since epoxy will not bond afterwards.

A wood filler that's too light in color might look worse than the staple holes which are tiny and easily overlooked from a distance... I didn't bother filling staple holes and don't notice the staple marks most of the time. There may be some risk to the appearance if the wrong filler is used, and I'd rather enjoy the canoe's great performance on the water rather than getting bogged down with details... IIRC, this is covered in Canoecraft somewhere, maybe the first edition. My two cents anyway, good luck.
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

I think to fill the holes in order to hide them, I would use sawdust and glue. That usually works pretty well once you get the consistency and colour you like.

As far as wetting the boat with a coat of epoxy before glassing, there are some builders who do and others that don't. The only advantage I can see in that is it might seal things up and prevent air bubbles. On the downside, it will add a small amount of weight to the boat and use a little extra time and resources.
Whatever you feel comfortable with.

Mark
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
AlanWS
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Post by AlanWS »

I've made several boats using staples, and would definitely not fill the holes with white glue and sawdust. It is likely to make them far more noticeable. If you insist on filling them, use sawdust in the epoxy you will use for glassing. I've heard people advocate doing that with fast curing epoxy, just before spreading out the glass cloth. Note that finished sawdust looks close to the color of endgrain, so it will be significantly darker than sidegrain of the same species.

The water trick really does work to swell the wood and make the holes a lot smaller. Just get clean water and spray the entire hull lightly. Don't get it wet, just slightly damp in a very even way -- which will prevent staining. It's the edge of a wet area that would be noticeable. You may not need to heat it at all. For the areas where you do heat it (remember, this will temporarily weaken the glue, so don't heat a large area at one time) just put a very slightly damp towel on the spot and use a hot iron. This is more easily controlled than a hair dryer.

Remember, the wood will change color over time, so if your filler matches now, it's unlikely to match later unless it's the same stuff. Light spots look stranger than dark ones. Refinishing later to make the color match is complicated by the glass.
Alan
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Don't give up on the sawdust and glue (or epoxy) method. Try a few test strips. I have had great succsess at covering up all sorts of things using this technique. It just takes some time to find the right mixture that works.

Mark
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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Jim Dodd
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Post by Jim Dodd »

After you roll on your seal coat. Wait a half hour or so, and with a small 1in. foam brush go over your staple line with mixed epoxy. The extra coating really seals the holes, and virtually eliminates those pesky weep holes.
It works !
Good luck !
Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
Rick
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Post by Rick »

Alan,
Remember, the wood will change color over time, so if your filler matches now, it's unlikely to match later unless it's the same stuff. Light spots look stranger than dark ones.
This was my mistake when building the Huron... the lighter-toned filler does stand out. After glassing, I was glad I didn't use it on the staple holes.

Next time, the filler will be darker than the surrounding wood, rather than a match.
switters
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Post by switters »

Hey I'm getting ready to start a prospector also. I've built some ply skiffs and a pirogue and have found that I Iike to wet out the hull before laying on the fiberglass because it helps the glass stay in place, makes sure you get a good bond with the wood and does not take more epoxy because you have to get it into the wood anyway through the glass.

wet out with a spatula, it goes very fast and you can start the cloth over the top before the first coat cures.
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