Rethinking my choice of "striped" outer stems

[David James]

Hi guys

I thought before go any farther I would describe my stem construction to the forum because I'm wondering if it's a good idea after all:
For my inner stems I have three strips of basswood, 1/4" thick by 7/8" wide.
For my outer stems five strips, [ maple - cherry - maple - cherry - maple ] all five strips held together measure just over 3/4" thick and they are 7/8" wide. My intention was to use the maple for the bow stem and the cherry for the stern, then I said to myself, "Self, what about layering the different woods for a "striped" look.?"
I kept track of the grain orientation on the basswood, but I have no idea where I'm at with the maple and the cherry grain. Also, I'm beginning to think the "stripes" won't look so good after all. :roll: Nothing has been glued up yet, and I still have to bend the stern stem wood, but I've read before on this forum about problems shaping the outer stems.
So I guess I'm wondering about my choice of woods and I'm concerned about possible stem shaping headaches later on that could be avoided.

thanks for any feedback or opinions, Dave in Glenview, Illinois

[Glen Smith]

Hi David,

On a few of my boats I used a combination of ash and walnut for the outer stems and I also lost track of grain orientation. I did the initial shaping with a very sharp spokeshave the finished with a stick of hardwood about 3/8" X 7/8" X 24" with sandpaper glued to the face and I didn't have any problems with tearout.

[Rod Tait]

I also have used varying woods for layers in stems. Other than the tear out which was not really a problem, the only other consideration I would add is that if you don't get a perfect fit in depth and width, the different layers will accentuate you mistakes.

Looks great when done cleanly.