Fiberglassing
Fiberglassing
I should be ready to start the fiberglassing on my Redbird on saturday. If you can think of the most common mistakes, I would love to hear them now. Everything has gone quite well to date and I would hate to ruin it after all this work. Thanks mtpocket
- Glen Smith
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
- Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada
If you carefully follow the instructions on John Michne's website you can't go wrong: http://www.michneboat.com/ click on "Builders Corner" then "Fiberglassing 101".
Thanks Glen and Patrick. I have the video that Newfound Woodworks sent. It looks easy, but it has been my experience that most things that look easy usually aren't. I will check out the website and hope for no surprises. I am using MAS epoxies with slow hardener and the best I can do is to warm up my garage to about 75F. I will let you know how it goes unless I become ashamed myself.
Here is another site for fiberglassing the inside.
http://www.greenval.com/FAQglassinside.html
I'd love to hear how you did your accent stripe on the bottom.
What fiberglass weight are you using? type of epoxy?
http://www.greenval.com/FAQglassinside.html
I'd love to hear how you did your accent stripe on the bottom.
What fiberglass weight are you using? type of epoxy?
"Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning..... But for other people the song is loudest in the evening when they are sitting in front of a tent, basking in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest ...." BM
- Patricks Dad
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
- Location: Warrenville, Illinois
A follow-on question for the glass-masters... I've read several website descriptions of the glassing process which have all been very informative. But haven't seen anyone suggest the following. I'm wondering what the downsides or difficulties one might encounter. I'd appreciate your assessment.
I was looking at a friends canoe the other day and noticed several places where the epoxy hadn't fully "stuck" along the sheerline on the inside. The outwale held the glass in place on the outside but on the inside where there were scuppers, the glass and epoxy had separated from the strip. It seemed to be an invitation for water to enter. This lead me to think about wraping the inside glass over the sheerline and overlap it onto the outside of the hull by .5" or so. The outwale would then cover the seam allowing the edge of the sheerline to be covered in glass and epoxy thereby creating a complete seal.
Crazy idea? Or is the best answer to mill the gunwales so they cover the edge of canoe entirely thus avoiding the exposed cedar.
thanks!
I was looking at a friends canoe the other day and noticed several places where the epoxy hadn't fully "stuck" along the sheerline on the inside. The outwale held the glass in place on the outside but on the inside where there were scuppers, the glass and epoxy had separated from the strip. It seemed to be an invitation for water to enter. This lead me to think about wraping the inside glass over the sheerline and overlap it onto the outside of the hull by .5" or so. The outwale would then cover the seam allowing the edge of the sheerline to be covered in glass and epoxy thereby creating a complete seal.
Crazy idea? Or is the best answer to mill the gunwales so they cover the edge of canoe entirely thus avoiding the exposed cedar.
thanks!
- Glen Smith
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
- Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada
If you try to fold the cloth over such a small radius it will not stay in place and it will pull away from the inside at the sheerline making the problem even worse. Since gravity tries to pull the epoxy down into the bottom of the hull you should be vigilant and pull excess epoxy up to the sheeline until it just starts to gel.
I coat the upper edge of the sheer strips with epoxy after they have been planed and sanded to final shape. This seems to help seal the edge and prevent water infiltration. Some builders install outwales that are shaped with a cap to cover the edge of the sheer strips.
I coat the upper edge of the sheer strips with epoxy after they have been planed and sanded to final shape. This seems to help seal the edge and prevent water infiltration. Some builders install outwales that are shaped with a cap to cover the edge of the sheer strips.
The fiberglass cloth I am using is 6 oz.
The accent stripe I made consisted of two stripes 16 feet long for the sides and one 4 foot long for the bottom. I used three species of wood, cherry, sassafras and white pine. I made these while I waited on the supplies to arrive. I cut blocks of each specie to 2 3/4" long and run them through a 3/4" round over bit on my router table. Then I ran them through the table saw at 1/4". I built a jig to assemble 24" of rope at a time. After I had 18 of these, I used the same jig to attach the lengths together, creating a 16' rope for each side and a 4' rope for the bottom. When the cedar strips arrived, I laid out two strips on my workbench, plus two filler strips for spacing, laid the rope on top, clamped it in place and traced the edges. Then used a 3/4" drum sander in my router table to erase up to the line anything I did not want. The bottom worked the same way except the final fitting into the hull. The rope in the bottom could not be glued to the cedar strips until everything else was put in place. I dry fitted the strips in the small football area, including the strips that were to be erased on the router table. I laid the rope on top and traced it. I removed the cedar strips and used the 3/4" drum sander to remove the area where the rope was to be located. I inserted and glued the strips in place except for the strips that are fore and aft of the rope, i.e. filler strips. This allowed me to work without reaching a point where I would have to sacrifice a cove or bead. I inserted and glued the fore and aft strips and slid them into position, leaving me the vacant hole where the rope would be positioned. At this time, nothing really fit very tight. I glued the rope and forced it down into position, which then caused everything else to tighten. Everything fit together nicely and without any real problem. It also allowed me to work without any need to hurry before glue setup. I hope this answers your question. mtpocket
The accent stripe I made consisted of two stripes 16 feet long for the sides and one 4 foot long for the bottom. I used three species of wood, cherry, sassafras and white pine. I made these while I waited on the supplies to arrive. I cut blocks of each specie to 2 3/4" long and run them through a 3/4" round over bit on my router table. Then I ran them through the table saw at 1/4". I built a jig to assemble 24" of rope at a time. After I had 18 of these, I used the same jig to attach the lengths together, creating a 16' rope for each side and a 4' rope for the bottom. When the cedar strips arrived, I laid out two strips on my workbench, plus two filler strips for spacing, laid the rope on top, clamped it in place and traced the edges. Then used a 3/4" drum sander in my router table to erase up to the line anything I did not want. The bottom worked the same way except the final fitting into the hull. The rope in the bottom could not be glued to the cedar strips until everything else was put in place. I dry fitted the strips in the small football area, including the strips that were to be erased on the router table. I laid the rope on top and traced it. I removed the cedar strips and used the 3/4" drum sander to remove the area where the rope was to be located. I inserted and glued the strips in place except for the strips that are fore and aft of the rope, i.e. filler strips. This allowed me to work without reaching a point where I would have to sacrifice a cove or bead. I inserted and glued the fore and aft strips and slid them into position, leaving me the vacant hole where the rope would be positioned. At this time, nothing really fit very tight. I glued the rope and forced it down into position, which then caused everything else to tighten. Everything fit together nicely and without any real problem. It also allowed me to work without any need to hurry before glue setup. I hope this answers your question. mtpocket
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I now have the seal coat of epoxy and the wet out coat on and am going to start the first fill coat in about an hour, I am amazed at the difference in color since the epoxy. I took a little longer than I expected on the wet out coat, but it was interesting to see the glass disapear. I am so glad that phase is now behind me. I confess, I was worried.
I now have the seal coat of epoxy and the wet out coat on and am going to start the first fill coat in about an hour, I am amazed at the difference in color since the epoxy. I took a little longer than I expected on the wet out coat, but it was interesting to see the glass disapear. I am so glad that phase is now behind me. I confess, I was worried.
- Glen Smith
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
- Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada
- John Caldeira
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:40 pm
- Location: Dallas, Texas
- Contact:
Most Common FIberglassing Mistakes
You asked for some 'most common' mistakes, so here goes:
1. Incorrect mix of resin and hardener. Recommend dispensing into a calibrated cup (the two-cup trick works well), even if you have pumps.
2. Applying the first coats of epoxy when temperatures are rising (typically in the morning). A sure way to get bubbles under the glass.
3. Failing to wet-out the wood with water before fiberglassing, to see how it will look. Wetting it out with water shows all the glue lines and scratches that will show up under epoxy.
4. Insufficient use of the squeegie. After wetting out fiberglass, all the epoxy that can be removed without starving the glass should be removed. This makes a lighter boat.
No idea how common each of the above errors arek, but they keep popping up on the message boards.
John
1. Incorrect mix of resin and hardener. Recommend dispensing into a calibrated cup (the two-cup trick works well), even if you have pumps.
2. Applying the first coats of epoxy when temperatures are rising (typically in the morning). A sure way to get bubbles under the glass.
3. Failing to wet-out the wood with water before fiberglassing, to see how it will look. Wetting it out with water shows all the glue lines and scratches that will show up under epoxy.
4. Insufficient use of the squeegie. After wetting out fiberglass, all the epoxy that can be removed without starving the glass should be removed. This makes a lighter boat.
No idea how common each of the above errors arek, but they keep popping up on the message boards.
John