shaping stems

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carles
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 9:54 am

shaping stems

Post by carles »

Hello, I'm new to canoe building a Ranger 15'. In need of ideas to shape stems. already ruined first set of stem stock. Used spoke shave and chisel. Any info helpful, Thanks
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Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Re: shaping stems

Post by Glen Smith »

I use 2 tools for stem shaping. A spokeshave and a sanding stick which is just a hardwood stick with 60 grit sandpaper gued on.
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BearLeeAlive
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:00 pm

Re: shaping stems

Post by BearLeeAlive »

Very similar to Glen here, except I used a good wood rasp as I didn't have a nice sanding stick like that. A spokeshave works great as you have to do a rolling bevel, and it is easy to do that with.
-JIM-
carles
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 9:54 am

Re: shaping stems

Post by carles »

Thanks for info very helpful, liked the shaping stick
alick burt
Posts: 255
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 2:41 am
Location: united kingdom
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Re: shaping stems

Post by alick burt »

Hi Carles
I like using my spokeshave,rasp,smoothing plane,cabinet scraper and sandpaper.I have also found a small belt sander works well.
Use what works well at different stages.Sometimes you will want to take lots off whereas at others a bit of finesse is required.Image
cheers
Alick
wpeluso
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:10 am
Location: Bluffton, South Carolina, USA

Re: shaping stems

Post by wpeluso »

I used a spokeshave and a small handplane to shape the stems on my 17' kayak. I carefully followed the instructions in Ted's book "KayakCraft" about shaping the stem, especially about not trying to shape too much of the stem at one time (3 or 4 strips worth worked for me). Shaping tool needs to be very sharp! Spokeshaves work well when they are very sharp and fine-tuned. Most spokeshaves right out of the box don't usually work too well. Their soles usually need to be flattened and the blade sharpened. I also slightly round the two corners of the blade to prevent it from digging in to the workpiece.
Lie-nielsen's website has a short video about how to set the depth of a spokeshave so it works properly.
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Moonman
Posts: 164
Joined: Wed May 26, 2004 11:24 am
Location: Vandorf, Ontario

Re: shaping stems

Post by Moonman »

After making a few paddles in which the efficiency and control of the rasp has been demonstrated, I have come to believe that for a newby or someone not having a history of working with hand tools, the easiest way would be the wood rasp and then the sanding stick. I have used all the above mentioned methods, which can all work fine, but the wood rasp can remove a lot of wood but in an easily controlled way. Not too big or heavy, can easily change angles for the bevel angle required, and its cheap as well. After getting close to your lines, take out the sanding stick.

On the other hand, if you have a good sharp spokeshave and know how to use it, then I would go that route and then use the sanding stick.

Moonman.
KenC
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: Oakville, ON

Re: shaping stems

Post by KenC »

I made a mistake when bending & laminating my stems, in that I failed to glue them up with the grain orientation consistent between layers. So I had grain sloping in opposite directions in alternating layers. This made shaping the stems with any kind of plane (I used both spokeshave & low-angle block plane) kind of interesting, as every second layer would cut smooth, while every other second layer would tear out. That would have been a good occasion to switch to the rasp, I suppose.

Ahh well, live and learn.
wb9tpg
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:01 pm
Location: Versailles, KY
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Re: shaping stems

Post by wb9tpg »

I used a Japanese "Shinto Saw Rasp" for shaping the stems. It takes off a lot of wood really quickly
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