another poor man's staple-less technique

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alick burt
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another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by alick burt »

Hi folks
My third canoe is on it's way and having read Tim Eastman's tip on staple-less building I am trying this but with some variations of my own.Image
1.I am using clear polyurethane adhesive to glue my strips so I can work almost continuously though i do have to be quick when fitting them or the glue will set before I get them together!I used a type that goes in a mastic gun but as the nozzle has too large a hole in the end I drilled a 2mm hole in the cap that is on the end of the nozzle and then used a spare cap on top of it to close it between strips.This gives a lovely thin bead of glue but you do have to be quick or it goes off.
2.I am using some 6mm bungee cord that I was able to get for a reasonable price from my local sailing club instead of rubber bands.
3.As my strips are bead and cove I am using a spare strip with the cove cut off as a packer to avoid damaging the cove.
Image
Things seem to be going ok so far.I may have to rethink things a bit when I reach the more difficult areas so watch this space..
Cheers
Alick
alick burt
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique continued

Post by alick burt »

Hi folks
This week I managed to get almost all my planking done.All in fact except the last strip which I decided to leave till next time rather than rushing it last thing on Friday!
I started working up the rest of the sides in pine for a contrast in colour. Image
keeping the strips together at the ends here is tricky and I used a couple of wedge shaped blocks for a while but they kept slipping off until I put sandpaper between them and the planks.Eventually as you get higher they cease to be necessary as holding the extra long bit of plank with a bungee on its end will keep it in position.Any other ideas for this area would be appreciated!
Image
Eventually I got to a point where the planking can continue up one side while the other side is left till later.Some of the planks in this area are very twisted so need to be pulled up tighter with the shock cord in the awkward areas and occasionally I used some cramps which were cramped to blocks screwed inside the jig to keep them at the right angle to apply pressure around the bilges.
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As planking continued I kept an eye on the centre line to avoid cutting them too short.
Image
I left it overnight to set at this point before proceeding with the next stage.
once the planks are fitted across the centre line I marked and cut them.
Image
Planking the other side is next and you will notice the ends of each plank need to be trimmed to long points in order fit.I do this by cutting one end to the approximate taper and then fitting it one shaving at a time with my block plane.Luckily the planks are getting shorter and flatter at this point to make things slightly easier.
Image
The final picture in this sequence shows some of the final planks and I did get a little further before I left the workshop on Friday.
Image.
Cheers Alick
BearLeeAlive
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Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:00 pm

Re: another poor man's staple-less technique continued

Post by BearLeeAlive »

alick burt wrote: keeping the strips together at the ends here is tricky and I used a couple of wedge shaped blocks for a while but they kept slipping off until I put sandpaper between them and the planks.Eventually as you get higher they cease to be necessary as holding the extra long bit of plank with a bungee on its end will keep it in position.Any other ideas for this area would be appreciated!
Alick, your schmoz of clamps and straps looks pretty much like what mine did, and if you hear of a better way, do let me know. I was doing 3 strips at a time and found it quite challenging to get the twist and bend to sit nice, all before the glue set up. This was especially tough rounding the curve on the stem. Worked out pretty good in the end.

Image

Image
-JIM-
alick burt
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by alick burt »

Hi Jim
I like the look of your pincer like clamp,but does it also slip off when used in an area where the hull is angled both ways as this is where I had the most trouble.I did end up with one or two small clamp marks but it's nothing that won't sweat out with a rag and an iron and that may not be necessary if it sands out in the first instance.
Cheers
Alick
BearLeeAlive
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by BearLeeAlive »

Alick, I still used a tapered block with sandpaper for grip against the hull using that clamp, and it did work quite well, though it was a bit tricky getting it clamped in those steeper sloped spots you mentioned. You can see in that shot, that there is a clamp on the strips beside the block, just in front on the stem, that stops it from sliding off.

Definitely a tricky clamping situation. I came to realize quickly the merits of running your strips parallel to the waterline, as oppose to parallel to the shear. To deal with either twist or curve is tough enough, but to have to do both at once (especially with 3 strips at a time) was quite challenging. Even with a diverse woodworking background, I have sure learned a lot building my first canoe. The help and ideas from this forum helped immensely.
-JIM-
alick burt
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by alick burt »

Hi folks
My first staple-less build continued this week and here's the latest progress report.I fitted the last planks and left it to set overnight before fairing.Whilst fairing I noticed that compared to my stapled hulls I didn't have as many gaps but those i had did need filling so i filled them with resin sanding dust and microfibres.
I test fitted my outer stems,marked them and shaped them and then glued them and left them to set Image
Next day the stem and hull was planed to allow for the keel. Image
I marked the keel ends by holding it in place with bungees and using a scrap of mdf to rest my pencil on the hull and mark the curve.Image
once the hull had been filled I left it to dry whilst making my gunwales which i have put in a separate post as some may find my method of making scuppers useful.
The final picture shows progress so far except I did spent Saturday doing my glassing.ImageMore later
Cheers Alick
alick burt
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Re:staple-less build continued plus Yoke carving hints.

Post by alick burt »

Hi Folks
Now where were we.
I did my outside glassing operation last Saturday whilst there was a gale blowing and rain pouring outside my unheated workshop.
The cool temperature made working the resin hard work so I didn't stop to take pictures until it was done.The process took me around 11 hours from start to finish and I am no expert but am,learning each time and I think the result is quite run free.I have since talked to my resin supplier and he recommends using drawing pins to hold the cloth along the keel line,folding the cloth back and pre coating a side at a time waiting 30 to 40 mins and re wetting dry spots before folding the cloth back and proceeding with the wet coat so I may try this next time.He also said he has used it as cold as 10C and had no problems it just takes longer.Image



Next stage was a thorough sand but on close inspection my resin (due to the cold weather)wasn't quite as hard as I would like so i left it longer and decided to make the seats and yoke.
I found a couple of offcuts of elm and made up my seat frames with mortice and tenon joints.I am lucky in that I have a morticer and tenoner for this but if you don't have this luxury you can always cut your mortices by hand using a drill to remove the bulk of the waste and saw your tenons with a tenon saw.
The groove for the cane was routed out before I assembled the frames with the exception of the corners which were cut after assembly.Image


They have also had the corners rounded by router and then they were sanded well before being given their first coat of varnish.Image


to avoid having to wait while one side dries they are placed on boards which have nails in them to support them without spoiling the coating on the bottom.Image


While they dried I made up the yoke.
I started with a lovely piece of cherry and drew the shape using my mdf template.Image


The outer shape was cut out on the bandsaw but you can use a jigsaw,bowsaw or even a coping saw if you don't have one it just takes longer.In the next picture you can see the handy use for a spare plastic pint pot where I am using it do draw the recesses for your shoulders.Image


The stages in cutting these are shown in the next sequence.First they are drilled in the centre with a large sawtooth bit then a smaller one is used to drill a series of shallower holes around the firstImage.


Next a large portion of the waste is removed with a carving gouge working from the outside of the bowl shape down into the centre until the drill cuts are removed.Image


The recesses are then sanded with a flap wheel scraped and then hand sanded to finish them off before the whole thing is given a final clean up and the outer edges rounded off.ImageImage




I gave the yoke a coat of varnish and that was the end of another day.
Next day the outside of the hull was sanded with 120grit dry paper and then with wet and dry.I didn't complete this process but left the resin to harden a bit more as it was clogging my paper and went ahead with removing the hull from the mould.Because the design has tumble home sides I found it easiest to remove it by unscrewing the stations from the strongback and carefully easing it off with an assistant to avoid damage.

next I started the long process of scraping and sanding the inside.
I use a whole variety of tools including, surform,random orbit sander,belt sander and scrapers.One thing i have found that works well is to use a large piece of sandpaper from my wide belt sander rolled up to various diameters and rubbed up and down the inside of the hull.Image


After a long sanding session I filled the gaps in planking (not many) and left it for a while to work on the decks.
I found a really choice piece of olive ash for this planed it up and marked lines on it to cut it diagonally and switch the pieces around to form the lovely kite shapes.Image


The meeting edges were planed to an angle biscuit jointed and then glued up in a simple jig and left to set whilst I made the seat pillars.Image




My seat pillars are just turned pieces of wood with a hole through the centre to take the bolts.I make them up from two pieces and then cut them to length at a later stage.I drill the centres out using the drill on my lathe that is used for boring lamps for a flex.If you don't have one of these it is possible to drill them with an ordinary drill once the individual pieces have been cut to length.Image


Next day I continued sanding the hull and scraped off the excess filler before damping it down with water and again working on the decks.
First they were shaped on the top using my power planer whilst holding the other side with my hand like so.Image


if you are not confident doing this or only have a hand plane you can just put the pieces back in the clamping jig to hold them.
With the wonderful grain on these pieces they developed a few tears but these were next sanded out with a belt sander.The concave side of them was a bit more tricky and I used an old convex moulding plane followed by a small belt sander across the grain before sanding them with the orbital sander to finish off.Image



Prior to final sanding they have handles cut out and shaped in them.The edge was first marked and cut to a curve.Image


Then I made a template for the handle shape,marked them out and drilled out the ends.Image

(No It's not a cyberman!)
Finally they were cut out with a jigsaw and the edges routed sanded and filed to shape with a rasp before a final sanding.Image


Another week over glassing the inside next week.
Cheers Alick
BearLeeAlive
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by BearLeeAlive »

You are moving right along there, Alick. Things are looking great.
-JIM-
alick burt
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by alick burt »

Hi Folks
Finally finished my staple-less build a few weeks ago now but have been short on time to update this thread.I managed to get outside between showers and take some pictures of the final result and I think you'll agree the method worked!
Cheers Alick
ImageImageImage
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Glen Smith
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by Glen Smith »

Beautiful, a job well done! :applause
Snowman
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by Snowman »

Alick,

Very well done!
Snowman back East
BearLeeAlive
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by BearLeeAlive »

Looking great!
-JIM-
Chipper1959
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by Chipper1959 »

Wow...after looking at some of the craftsmanship on these sites it makes me realize I've got a lot of learning to do.
Quite inspiring !
Alex78
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by Alex78 »

Wow! I find it amazing.
alick burt
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Re: another poor man's staple-less technique

Post by alick burt »

Thank you for your kind words guys.
I am currently working on my first Kayak using the same method and am currently sanding the insides of the two halves.ImageImage
Happy New Year
Alick
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